Military aircraft crashes in northern Vietnam, one pilot killed

HANOI: A pilot was killed when a Vietnamese air force fighter jet crashed during a training session on Tuesday (Jan 31) in the north of the country, state media reported.

The accident happened at noon in Yen Bai province and the 30-year-old pilot died while trying to land the Russian-made Su-22 jet at a local airport, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vietnam’s defence ministry has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, it added.

Two pilots were killed in a similar exercise involving a Su-22 in central Vietnam in 2018, while two were forced to eject over the South China Sea in 2015 when their Su-22 jet went down.

Vietnam relies heavily on Russia for its military procurements, although it is seeking to diversify its equipment and arms suppliers.