ISLAMABAD: A small trainer aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) crashed near Mardan today during a routine training mission, according to a PAF spokesperson.
It was not clear whether any casualty occurred in the incident.
“A board of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident,” said the spokesperson. In a similar incident in August, a PAF fighter trainer aircraft had crashed near Attock during a routine training mission, however, no loss of life or property was reported on the ground.
At least five similar incidents were reported last year, with four PAF jets crashing during training missions and one while rehearsing for the March 23 parade.
The first incident had taken place in January 2020, when an aircraft of the PAF had crashed while on a routine operational training mission near Mianwali. Both pilots, Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman, aboard the PAF FT-7 aircraft had lost their lives in the crash.
It was followed by another accident in February when a PAF Mirage aircraft crashed while on a routine operational training mission near Shorkot city in Punjab. A statement issued by the PAF spokesperson at the time had said the pilot safely ejected and no loss of life or property had been reported on the ground.
A PAF trainer aircraft had crashed the same month while on a routine training mission near Takht Bhai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district. The pilot had been ejected safely before the crash.
In March that year, a PAF F-16 aircraft had crashed near Shakarparian in Islamabad during rehearsals for the March 23 parade. Wing Commander Nauman Akram was martyred in the crash.
Later in September, a PAF aircraft had crashed near Pindigheb, Attock. The incident had happened during a routine training mission and no loss of life was reported.
