Two air force pilots martyred as training aircraft crashes in Mianwali

Two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots were martyred on Tuesday in a training aircraft crash near the M.M. Alam Base in Mianwali.  

According to a PAF spokesperson, a PAF FT-7 aircraft "on a routine operational training mission" had crash landed near Mianwali.

"Both pilots, Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman, embraced shahadat," the spokesperson said. 

He added that a board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of accident.

Read also: 18 dead as Pakistan Army training aircraft crashes in Rawalpindi

Last year in January, a PAF pilot flying the same aircraft had embraced martyrdom when he crashed in similar circumstances in the Khad Koocha area of Mastung, Balochistan.

Similarly, in June 2018, two pilots were martyred when their PAF F-7PG  trainer aircraft — a variant of the FT-7 — crashed during landing at the Peshawar Air Base.

In May 2017, another F-7PG aircraft had crashed near Mianwali on a routine operational training mission. No loss of life or property had been reported in that crash as the pilot had ejected safely. However, by August of the same year, there had been two more crashes of the same aircraft, including one which claimed the life of a commanding officer. 

In May 2015, an F-7PG crash had resulted in the martyrdom of Pakistan's first female fighter pilot, Flying Officer Mariyum Mukhtar.

At least 14 FT-7 aircraft and its variants operated by PAF have crashed over the last 18 years.