Two Pakistan Army pilots die in Quetta training aircraft crash

Two Pakistan Army Aviation pilots died when a Mushshak training aircraft crashed near Quetta on Monday, with the military attributing the accident to a technical fault.

Who were the Pakistan Army pilots killed in the Quetta plane crash?

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, identified the pilots as Major Husnain Shehzad Humayun, an instructor pilot, and Captain Abdul Samad, a student pilot.

Both served with Pakistan Army Aviation. The aircraft crashed near Nawan Killi around midday on October 12.

Has another Pakistan military training aircraft crashed recently?

The crash comes less than four months after another fatal military training aircraft accident in Pakistan. On June 15, a Pakistan Air Force training aircraft crashed during a routine training mission near Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, martyring both pilots on board.

The military identified the pilots as Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah of the Pakistan Air Force and Lieutenant Taha Abbasi of the Pakistan Navy. A board of inquiry was formed to determine the cause of that crash, according to the ISPR.

Has a Mushshak aircraft crashed in Balochistan before?

In September 2014, two Army Aviation pilots were injured when a Mushshak aircraft crashed near Manna Dam in the Ziarat area of Balochistan during a training mission. The aircraft had developed a technical fault, according to contemporaneous media reports.

Both pilots were taken to hospital for treatment, and an inquiry was ordered.