Daily Times

A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft crashed near Pindigheb, Attock, on Tuesday, the air force said in a statement.

The statement said that the incident happened during a routine training mission, adding that no loss of life was reported. “The pilot ejected safely. No loss of life or property has been reported on ground,” it added. The PAF said that a board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the crash which is the fifth such incident since the start of this year. In March, a PAF F-16 aircraft crashed near Shakarparian in Islamabad during rehearsals for the March 23 parade. Wing Commander Nauman Akram was martyred in the crash.

A PAF trainer aircraft crashed on February 12 during a routine training mission near Takht Bhai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan district. It was the third PAF training aircraft to have crashed while on a routine training mission in less than two months. In the same month, a PAF Mirage aircraft, which was also on a routine operational training mission, had crashed near the Lahore-Multan Motorway. Pilots in both cases had ejected safely. Earlier in January, a PAF aircraft had crashed while on a 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.