A pilot that miraculously avoided death after ejecting himself from a Soviet jet moments before exploded is a decorated Navy veteran.
Dan Filer had been performing at the Thunder Over Michigan air show at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti on Sunday when he had to eject from his MiG-23 aircraft.
Filer had been flying in tandem with another person, who remains unknown at this time, when the two had to quickly eject from the jet which crashed to the ground.
Images taken at the event show captured the moment Filer and his passenger had to eject themselves from the plane, which was built from 1967 to 1985.
Despite the dramatic images showing the plane going down, no life-threatening injuries have been reported.
Filer had been flying in tandem with another person, who remains unknown at this time, when the two had to quickly eject from the jet
Images taken at the event show captured the moment Filer and his passenger had to eject themselves from the plane
A destroyed MiG-23 fighter plane sits after crashing at an apartment complex during the Thunder Over Michigan airshow
The aircraft appeared to crash just off of I-94 Service Road and Beck Road in Michigan near Waverly on the Lake Apartment complex.
Filer is said to have been losing power in the aircraft when he decided to eject himself and the other person onboard.
On Monday, John Brannen of the National Transportation Safety Board told the Detroit Free Press that Filer had serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Filer, is a decorated pilot having served in the military for nearly twenty years and was deployed during the Gulf War.
In an interview from August of last year, Filer told KTBS how he had been collecting former Soviet jets, and owned the only privately owned MiG-23 in the world.
Speaking to the outlet, he said: 'It's the only privately owned, flying Mig-23 in the world.
'Usually when somebody sees the red star it is a former Soviet Union person, and they ask "why do you have our aircraft?".
'I say well it is not your aircraft anymore, it's mine. When I got out of active duty I kind of missed the upside down flying.
In total, he managed to acquire eighteen soviet planes and sold ten of them.
After close to twenty years of active duty in the Navy, Filer turned to being a commercial pilot for United Airlines.
Filer, is a decorated pilot having served in the military for nearly twenty years and was deployed during the Gulf War
Despite the dramatic images showing the plane going down, no life-threatening injuries have been reported
During his time of service Filer was awarded four Air medals and the Combat V for Heroism and Valor.
Filer continued: 'Other countries airplanes you can almost go up to the assembly line and buy them.'
Filer flew attack planes from aircraft carriers, which included a total of 47 missions on the first Gulf War.
In a previous interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph, it was reported that he was born in upstate New York and first went flying at the age of fifteen.
He recalled the thrill of it to the outlet, saying: 'At the end of the one-hour flight, my cheeks were so sore from smiling I then knew this is what I wanted to do.'
Filer served ten years active duty followed by eight years in the reserves before retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.
Authorities confirmed the crash happened near the Waverly on the Lake Apartments
During a news conference at the crash site, Brannen added: 'In this case, we have a fairly large airplane and the fact that both pilots survived and there were no ground injuries is a very good outcome.'
In a statement, Wayne County Airport Authority said: 'Shortly after 4pm, Sunday, a MiG-23 demonstration plane performing at the Yankee Air Museum's Thunder Over Michigan Air Show crashed into the parking lot at the Waverly on the Lake Apartments in Belleville.
'The pilot and backseater succesfully ejected from the aircraft before the crash.
'While it did not appear they sustained any injuries, first responders transported the pair to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
'The aircraft struck unoccupied vehicles in the apartment complex's parking lot. No one at the apartment complex nor the air show was injured.
'The FAA is investigating the crash.'
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