Two pilots were killed when a military aircraft of the Air Defence-Air Force Service went down in Nghia Dan district of central Nghe An province around noon of July 26.


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Smoke rises from the scene of the aircraft crash in Dua village of Nghia Yen commune, Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province



The Su 22U aircraft, No. 8551, of Air Force Regiment 921 of Division 371 began a training session at 11:16am but lost contact at 11:35am. Later, it was found to have crashed in Dua village of Nghia Yen commune, Nghia Dan district.

The victims are Lt. Col. Khuat Manh Tri (born in 1978) – deputy head and Chief of the Staff of Regiment 921, and Sen. Lt. Col. Pham Giang Nam (born in 1972) – head of the regiment’s flight team.

Shortly after the incident happened, the Ministry of National Defence ordered the Air Defence-Air Force Service to coordinate with relevant units to settle consequences.

According to preliminary information, the aircraft had taken off from the Sao Vang airfield in Tho Xuan district of neighbouring Thanh Hoa province. The scene of the incident is about 100km from Vinh city of Nghe An.-VNA