ISLAMABAD: Two pilots were martyred after a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) trainer aircraft crashed during a routine training mission near Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
In a statement, the military's media wing said the aircraft went down in the vicinity of Mardan while undertaking a routine training sortie. The pilots on board — Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah of the Pakistan Air Force and Lieutenant Taha Abbasi of the Pakistan Navy — embraced shahadat in the incident.
The ISPR said Air Headquarters had constituted a board of inquiry to determine the cause of the crash. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, along with the services chiefs and all ranks of the Pakistan Armed Forces, expressed profound grief over the loss of the two officers and extended heartfelt condolences to their families.
The latest incident comes days after an Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan Army Aviation crashed near Muzaffarabad during take-off on June 10 due to a technical fault. According to the ISPR, all personnel on board the helicopter embraced shahadat and there were no survivors. A board of inquiry was ordered to ascertain the exact technical cause of that accident as well.
The Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, along with all ranks of the Pakistan Army, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and conveyed condolences to the bereaved families.
