Spectators noticed something odd. >> i see him coming around the hangar as he was doing his maneuver. and then i saw, well, i got to look on the other end. he might turn it on and get it. i looked around. >> he lost speed and started going down. >> all of a sudden, hear pop, pop, pop -- sparks came out of the engine. >> this is what they witnessed -- the cf-18 bursting into flames. the pilot barely escaped, shooting out with his parachute just moments before the jet dove nose-first into the ground. the pilot is lucky to be alive. but he had a rough landing. >> that's probably less than 100 met...