Pakistan Air Force training jet crashes in Punjab, report claims | VIDEO

A Pakistan Air Force fighter jet reportedly crashed in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province on Wednesday (May 20). The aircraft, believed to be a Hongdu JL-8 training jet, went down near Mianwali. According to initial reports, the two pilots managed to safely eject. Videos and images claiming to be from the incident emerged on social media, showing the wreckage of the crash.

The cause of the crash is not known at the moment. The Pakistan Air Force has not made any official statement confirming the incident. The condition of the pilots was not immediately clear, while some social media posts claimed they were rescued by locals and were injured.

According to a Xinhua report, citing security sources, the aircraft crashed during a routine operational training mission in Mianwali district of the province. It added that the incident happened due to a technical malfunction in the aircraft’s engine. An investigation is underway.

Mianwali is home to PAF Base M.M. Alam, one of Pakistan’s key air force training facilities, and has seen multiple military aircraft accidents over the years.

The recent crash has once again drawn attention to repeated incidents involving Pakistan’s training aircraft and ageing fighter fleet. In January 2020, an FT-7 training jet crashed during a routine mission near the same Mianwali base, killing both pilots. Reports then noted that at least 14 FT-7 aircraft and related variants had crashed over the previous 18 years.

In August 2017, an F-7 fighter jet went down near Mianwali due to a suspected technical malfunction, killing Wing Commander Mohammad Shahzad after he was unable to eject.

Pakistan has witnessed several other military aviation mishaps in recent years, including the crash of an F-16 aircraft during a rehearsal flight in Islamabad in 2020.