Military plane crashes in Phu Yen: Pilot tries to lower altitude to avoid power lines

On the morning of August 26, a few minutes after takeoff, an aircraft of the 910th Air Force Regiment of the Air Force Officer School crashed onto National Highway 1A, crashing through a field in Hoa Thanh commune, Dong Hoa, Phu Yen.

>>> Initial information on the cause of the military plane crash in Phu Yen

Scene of the crash of the 910th Air Force Regiment's plane. Photo: FB Hai Long

Speaking to VnExpress, the leader of the Air Force Officer School located in Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa), said that this morning, two students were practicing solo combat flights and attacking formations. Just a few minutes after taking off from the runway, the plane piloted by the student behind suddenly encountered an accident and crashed.

"The incident happened so quickly that one student did not have time to parachute and died," said the leader of the Air Force Officer School.

Scene of the L39 aircraft crash of Air Force Regiment 910. Photo: FB Dung NV TL

The plane crashed onto Highway 1A before crashing into the field. Photo: FB Dung NV TL

According to local residents, the plane was flying quite low, suddenly wobbled and then crashed into a power line before crashing close to Highway 1A and landing in a field. The plane hit a passerby, seriously injuring him.

At the scene, the plane was broken in the front, lying in a field about 100 meters east of the highway. Authorities are working around the plane, searching for debris.

In a statement issued after the accident, the Ministry of National Defense said that at 8:45 a.m., after taking off from Tuy Hoa airport (Phu Yen) to gain altitude for a practice flight, the plane piloted by Sergeant Pham Duc Trung (24 years old, from Ninh Binh, pilot student) suffered engine failure. Trung received orders to return to the airport but crashed in a field in Phuoc Loc village, Hoa Thanh commune, killing the pilot.

After the incident, the Ministry of National Defense directed the Air Defense - Air Force to coordinate with relevant units to organize rescue, relief and overcome the consequences. The scene is being strictly blocked off.

12 noon today, Vice Chairman of Phu Yen Provincial People's Committee Tran Huu The said that traffic on National Highway 1A where the plane crashed has returned to normal. Signs at the scene showed that the pilot tried to lower the altitude to avoid the power line, so the plane's landing gear scraped a short distance on the median strip.

The plane's front part was broken. Photo: LTPB

The L-39 is a jet fighter trainer aircraft developed by Aero Vodochody (Czechoslovakia) since the 1960s. This aircraft was used by the Vietnam People's Air Force to train military pilots. In 2007, during training, an L-39 also crashed into the coast of Phuoc Dinh commune, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province. Two pilots on board died.

According to VNE