Thai air force jet crashes during drill, pilot killed

Iran Press TV

Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:44PM

A single-engine multirole combat aircraft operated by the Thai air force has crashed during a training session in Thailand's central province of Lop Buri, killing the pilot.

Thailand's air force spokesman, Air Marshal Monthol Satchukorn, said the US-built F-16A plane went down in Khok Sampong district of the province at around 2:40 p.m. local time (0740 GMT) on Friday, as it was taking part in a missile launch training in the neighboring Chai Badan district.

Montol said the body of the 30-year-old pilot has been found in the wreckage, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.

"The pilot could not eject himself out of the plane in time," Lop Buri governor, Thanakom Chongchira, stated.

Thai air force has about 50 active F-16 aircraft in service, and Friday's ill-fated jet was first used in 1988 and had undergone regular maintenance.

The mishap was not the first of its kind in Thailand.

Another F-16A fighter jet crashed during a training flight near the Thai-Myanmar border in 2010. The pilot died in the incident.

A year later, two F-16 planes crashed in northeastern Thailand while participating in a joint military exercise with the United States. The pilots, however, managed to eject to safety.

MP/HSN/SS