Madrid , Spain ( CNN ) -- A Saudi army lieutenant colonel died Tuesday during a training flight at a Spanish air base , the Spanish Defence Ministry said . The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. ( 3:30 a.m . ET ) during a training flight aboard a Eurofighter Typhoon jet . A few minutes after takeoff , the plane hit the ground for unknown reasons , the Defense Ministry said . A Spanish pilot who was also on board ejected before the plane hit the ground , the ministry said . A special committee has been sent to the Moron Air Base in Seville to investigate , the Defense Ministry said . The Saudi pilot was at Moron to sign an agreement on Spanish-Saudi cooperation , which includes training for Saudi pilots on the Eurofighter , the ministry said . Saudi Arabia is one of the customers for the Eurofighter , which is manufactured by an international consortium of Britain 's BAE Systems , the German and Spanish arms of EADS , and Italy 's Alenia Aeronautica . CNN 's Claudia Rebaza in London , England , contributed to this report .
The Saudi army lieutenant colonel was on a training flight near Seville . He had been in the air for about an hour when he noticed that his plane began to shake and then it crashed into the ground. His Spanish co-pilot ejected before the crash and survived .