VIRGINIA BEACH

A civilian, World War II-era stunt plane crashed today while practicing for an air show at Oceana Naval Air Station set to begin hours later, officials said. There was no word on injuries.

Ralph Roberts with GEICO Skytypers told WAVY-TV the Skytypers' No. 6 plane went down during an air show rehearsal about noon. The crash occurred "at the very end of their last maneuver," Roberts said.

"He probably tried to continue to make the maneuver and save the plane, possibly by doing a belly flop," Roberts said.

Television reports showed the wreckage of the plane in a field at the end of a runway, surrounded by emergency vehicles.

Roberts said he was awaiting information on the pilot's condition.

"We're just hoping for the best," said Troy Snead, a spokesman for Oceana Naval Air Station.

Capt. Mark Hunter, commanding officer of Oceana, confirmed the accident in a brief statement at 3 p.m. He said an investigation of the cause is ongoing.

"The air show tonight will go as scheduled," Hunter said. He did not take questions.

The Navy's Blue Angels squadron is preparing for another demonstration this afternoon.

The Skytypers of New York operate the SNJ-2 plane, a 66-year-old aircraft used to train World War II pilots. The Skytypers' variant of the vintage plane has a 180-gallon fuel tank that allows it to operate for more than four hours. There are only 11 of these airplanes in the world, and the Skytypers have six of them.

Roberts said the planes don't have a system to eject a pilot, and the plane at Oceana was flying too low for the pilot to bail out using a parachute.

Witnesses saw thick black smoke in contrast to the gray bursts used by the Skytypers. It was apparent that something went wrong, one witness said this afternoon.

Five planes were flying in formation, and it appeared that the fifth plane went down.

"I lost them in the smoke," said Brian Collier, a 28-year-old from Philadelphia. "Then, I saw the smoke on the ground."

Collier, who has seen the show dozens of times, said firefighters battled the flames for at least 30 minutes. The pilots were preparing to land when the crash occurred.

Angel Speelman, a vice principal at Gateway Christian School in Virginia Beach, said about 140 students from fourth to eighth grades were in the stands at Oceana this morning for the rehearsal.

"All our children really saw was the plane in the air, and then it disappeared," Speelman said.

Then they saw smoke, and started hearing sirens come from all directions.

"At no time were they in harm's way, and they saw nothing graphic," Speelman said.

Spectators were cleared from the stands, she said.

"We stopped and we had prayer for the pilot and the pilot's family," Speelman said.

According to GEICO's Web site, the Skytypers Air Show Team performs across the country. The pilots perform low-level flying maneuvers and deliver aerial smoke messages, also called Skytyping.

The site claims that the group is the "only World War II civilian squadron flying today."

The Skytypers release their messages five planes abreat, 250 feet apart and "type" short messages in the sky, according to the company's site.

During exhibitions, the pilots fly in formation and a computer in the lead plane sends radio signals to the smoke systems in each plane, the site says.

Virginian-Pilot staff writers Cindy Clayton, Kate Wiltrout, Louis Hansen and Duane Bourne contributed to this report, along with the Associated Press.