SHENYANG - A small aerobatic aircraft crashed into a lake in Northeast China's Liaoning province Tuesday, leaving a US pilot missing and his Chinese translator dead, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at about 1 pm when the Lancair aircraft with pilot David Riggs and his Chinese translator aboard crashed into a lake in Faku county in Liaoning's capital city of Shenyang during a trial flight.

The aircraft was assembled at a local airport before the trial flight, the city's publicity department announced.

The aircraft belongs to the MACH 1 aerobatic team from the United States.

The translator was pulled from the water but died later at a local hospital. Rescuers are still searching the pilot.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.