SWABI: A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) training aircraft crashed in fields at Shahmansoor village here on Monday, however, the two pilots ejected safely using parachutes.

District Police Officer Sajjad Khan confirmed the report, saying the aircraft crashed in the tobacco fields near the densely populated Shahmansoor area.

Eyewitness said the aircraft crashed with a bang and caught fire within no time. The residents rushed to the site to extinguish the fire. They said the fire tenders reached after the aircraft had burnt to ashes.

A PAF spokesperson in a statement confirmed the crash, saying two pilots remained unhurt as they exited the training aircraft using parachutes.

The spokesman said a board of inquiry had been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of the accident.

The two pilots were identified as Faisal Irfan and Khawas Khan. The aircraft took off from the Raisalpur airbase and was on way back to the same base when it met the accident, he said.

The police rushed to the site of the crash and took the pilots to Shahmansoor hospital complex, wherefrom they were referred to Combined Military Hospital, Peshawar. “One of the pilots has broken his leg and the other got minor injuries,” said a police official.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015

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