The body of Vietnamese pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung, who was killed in a mid-air collision in the United Kingdom, will be returned to Viet Nam on December 5-6 for the funeral.

Pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung died in a crash between a helicopter and an aircraft on November 17 in UK. — BBC Photo

This was reported by dantri.com.vn online newspaper on Thursday.

Trung, 32, died in a crash between a helicopter and an aircraft on November 17, according to the Vietnamese defence ministry and the Helicopter Services Company at the Wycombe Air Park in Buckinghamshire, which is where the collision occurred.

Captain Nguyen Thanh Trung was taking an advanced helicopter training session on a Cabri G2.

According to the online newspaper’s sources, a Vietnamese delegation was working with the United Kingdom’s relevant authorities to resolve issues following the accident and complete necessary procedures to send the pilot’s body back to his country.

Trung’s family has said it wished to bury the pilot’s body in his homeland. Therefore, after many discussions between Vietnamese and UK agencies, the two sides decided to resolve procedures according to the wishes of his family.

Pilot Trung, with 10-year experience, flew to the United Kingdom for the training programme at Helicopter Services Centre in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, according to the Vietnamese Defence Ministry’s decision on October 20, 2017, and was planning to return to the country on December 22, 2017.

Trung was born in Hanoi. His parents were retired military officials. He leaves behind a one-year-old son and a wife who is pregnant with their second child. 

According to the Helicopter Services Company, Trung was in the student’s seat and his mentor was in the pilot’s seat. Contact with the helicopter was lost 15 minutes after it took off.

The helicopter was hit in the rear by a light two-seat aircraft Cessna, which was also on a training session, at a height of 1,000 feet or some 330m.

The mid-air collision killed all four people on the helicopter and the aircraft, according to UK media reports. — VNS