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Burmese military jet crashes in Bago, killing pilot

A military fighter jet crashed on Tuesday morning near Kyun Kone village in Taungoo Township, Bago Region, killing the pilot, who was the downed aircraft’s sole occupant.

Speaking to DVB, Second Lieutenant Toe Wai Kyaw of the Kyun Chaung police station, a jurisdiction that covers Kyun Kone village, said the Chinese-manufactured F-7 aircraft crashed around 11 a.m., adding that the military is expected to release a full statement about the accident.

“I don’t know any more information about that. The aircraft was just a training jet. The pilot ejected from the aircraft,” he said. “Now, officials from the military are starting an investigation into why the aircraft crashed.”

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a brief statement at 2 p.m. saying the downed jet’s pilot, Major Arkar Win, had ejected and deployed his emergency parachute, but succumbed to injuries sustained during the crash shortly after being transported to a military hospital in Taungoo.

“[We are] still investigating the details of the air crash,” said the statement.

Aviation disasters involving Burmese military aircraft are not uncommon.

[related]

In September 2017, a G-4 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise spanning Irrawaddy Region and Rakhine State, with the pilot and co-pilot both killed. Earlier that same year, a military transport plane plunged into the Andaman Sea off Burma’s southeast coast, killing all 122 passengers, which included soldiers and their family members.

A Beechcraft 1900 turboprop with five men on board went down in the capital Naypyidaw in February 2016, shortly after taking off. There were likewise no survivors.

Early this year, Burma’s armed forces inked a deal with Russia to buy six Su-30 fighter jets at a total cost of about $200 million in an ongoing push to upgrade the country’s military hardware.

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