MOSCOW -- A Su-27 military plane crashed in the Moscow region and the pilot was killed, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday.

"On June 9 at 10:25 local time (0725 GMT), a Su-27 belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed in the Moscow region while returning to the base airfield after a planned flight," the ministry said in a statement.

The pilot died after he performed all necessary operations to divert the plane from a populated area and had no time for ejection, the ministry said.

The crash happened after the Su-27, belonging to the Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air force, took part in a ceremony show in the northern part of the Moscow region.

Preliminary data showed the crash was caused by a technical failure. All flights of the Su-27 have been suspended until the cause of the crash is established.

The black box of the Su-27 has been found and is in good condition, Tass news agency quoted an investigative source as saying.