Mexican pilot dies in plane crash during gender reveal party gone wrong

A gender reveal stunt in Mexico went tragically wrong this weekend, resulting in the death of an airplane pilot.

In a video that has now gone viral across multiple social media platforms, an expecting couple can be seen standing in front a large, lit up sign reading "Oh baby," decked out in balloons. The couple hold hands as onlookers prepare for the announcement of their baby's gender, courtesy of an oncoming crop-duster plane.

As the plane flies overhead, it releases a mist of pink, signaling that the unborn child is a girl. Around the same time it flies over the sign, a cannon full of pink confetti also shoots up from the ground as the group gathered for the event shouts, cheers and jumps in excitement.

As the camera follows the plane's path over the crowd, however, it captures the moment things go awry. After passing the embracing couple, the aircraft's wing appears to collapse in on itself, sending the plane spinning. It can be seen spiraling towards the ground as it disappears behind trees and the camera pans back over the happy crowd to the celebrating couple.

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Local authorities in Navolato, Sinaloa state, told CNN that paramedics treated the pilot at the scene of the crash before transporting him to the local hospital where he died.

Local news outlet Línea Directa identified the man as 32-year-old Luis Ángel “N" and reported no further causalities from the accident. Authorities have not yet released information as to the cause of the crash.

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Other gender reveal accidents

The debate around gender reveals has heated up in recent years thanks to a series of accidents and mishaps linked to the parties.

While many people stick to cutting into a colored cake or popping a confetti-filled balloon, larger displays have ended in destruction and tragedy. In 2020, one California couple's reveal sparked a massive wildfire in the San Bernardino National Forest, killing one firefighter attempting to battle the blaze. The pair were later charged with involuntary manslaughter and 29 other crimes.

In 2017 and 2020, two similar events started fires that burned 45,000 acres in Arizona and 10 acres in Florida, respectively.

In February 2021, a father-to-be died when a device used as part of a gender reveal exploded. Earlier that month, another man died when a cannon exploded during a similar stunt. In October 2019, a woman died after being struck by debris from a gender reveal party-related explosion while another event the following month saw a plane crash in Texas.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gender reveal plane crash results in pilot's death in Mexico