Su-22 crashes during flight training in Yen Bai
The pilot parachuted safely before the plane crashed into the wall of the military unit.
At 2:29 p.m. on April 23, pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Thanh Hai - Regiment 921, Air Division 371, flew a training flight with Su-22M4 fighter, serial number 5858.
When landing at the runway in Tran Yen district (Yen Bai), the pilot reported that the landing gear was not available and asked for permission from the unit to descend to drop the landing gear urgently.
Then, in an emergency, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Thanh Hai landed and let the plane take off. At this time, the pilot released the parachute as prescribed, but due to the high speed, the parachute broke and the plane went beyond the end of the runway; the pilot ejected safely, but the plane was slightly damaged.
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Scene of military plane crash in Yen Bai. Photo:CTV |
The leader of the People's Committee of Tran Yen district (Yen Bai province) said "the incident caused a soldier on ground guidance duty to be slightly injured; the plane crashed into the unit's fence".
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The plane crashed into the fence of the military unit. Photo:CTV |
Local people said that the area where the incident occurred was previously a mountainous area with no residents; recently, when the military unit arrived, they leveled a part of the mountain for basic construction; around there were only the commune People's Committee headquarters and some schools.
Authorities of the Ministry of National Defense and the Air Defense - Air Force Command have directed the accident investigation council to clarify the cause.
Previously in July 2018, Su-22 aircraft numbered 8551 of Air Force Regiment 921, Division 371, Air Defense - Air Force, departed from Sao Vang airport (Tho Xuan, Thanh Hoa) for a routine training flight and had an accident in Nghe An airspace; two pilots died.
921st Air Regiment(Air Division 371, Air Defense - Air Force) is the first fighter unit of Vietnam, formerly stationed in Hanoi. Since the end of 2018, the Regiment has been transferred to Yen Bai.
Su-22 fighterDesigned by the Soviet Union, put into service in the 1970s. Vietnam began receiving a small number of Su-22M/UM in 1979. This was the first fighter aircraft of the Vietnam Air Force to patrol Truong Sa and the southern continental shelf of the Fatherland. This type of aircraft has a long fuselage, a large cockpit and especially applies swing-wing technology allowing for rapid acceleration.
