Two pilots were martyred on Monday when a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) trainer aircraft crashed near Mardan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during a routine training sortie, the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
Details of the Incident
According to ISPR, the aircraft went down in the vicinity of Mardan, resulting in the death of both personnel on board—Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah of the Pakistan Air Force and Lieutenant Taha Abbasi of the Pakistan Navy, who were on a training mission. The statement said both officers embraced martyrdom in the line of duty.
Investigation Underway
A board of inquiry has been constituted by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of the crash. The investigation aims to uncover the factors that led to this tragic event.
Condolences from Military Leadership
Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, along with the Services Chiefs, expressed deep grief over the incident and extended condolences to the families of the martyrs. The tragedy comes days after another incident in which an Army Aviation Mi-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad during take-off due to a technical fault, with all personnel on board also martyred.
