General Vo Van Tuan: "Two Su-22 pilots may have died"

Based on the debris, especially the parachute seat found, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army said it was unlikely that the two pilots had parachuted out.

On the evening of April 20, Lieutenant General Vo Van Tuan - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army - said that the search force has not yet found any trace of the two pilots, and it is highly likely that the two officers flying the Su-22 squadron that crashed in the sea of ​​Phu Quy island district, Binh Thuan province, have died.

According to Lieutenant General Tuan, over the past five days, the search force has mobilized many modern devices to discover the wreckage of the two crashed Su-22 fighters. Among them, many pieces are of important significance in determining the cause and fate of the two pilots.

"When the parachute seat was found, analysis showed that this part broke when it fell into the water, not when the seat was shot out. Therefore, the story of the pilot parachuting before the plane crashed is not true," said Mr. Tuan.

Helicopters join the search for two missing pilots in the waters of Phu Quy island district.

Regarding the assumption that the two planes may have broken up in the sky before falling into the water, Mr. Tuan said that when the planes collided, they may have lost control. However, to know the exact cause and event, it is necessary to decode the black box.

The search has been difficult in recent days, according to the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, because the debris has been swept away from the accident area. "It is possible that strong ocean currents on the day of the accident swept the two planes and pilots away. In the coming days, we will continue to prioritize searching for the pilots, then the black boxes to determine the cause of the accident," said Lieutenant General Tuan.

In the face of the recent series of plane accidents, Mr. Tuan said that he would organize many conferences related to technical expertise, reviewing factors to ensure flight safety.

Previously, a squadron of 2 Su-22 aircraft took off from Phan Rang airport (Ninh Thuan) to the airspace of Phu Quy island and lost contact at 11:35 on April 16. The target area was about 10-20 km north of Phu Quy island.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Nghia (level 1 pilot), Deputy Commander of Regiment 937, Division 370, piloted aircraft number 5857 and Captain Nguyen Anh Tu (level 3 pilot, Deputy Squadron Commander of Squadron 1, Regiment 937, Division 370) piloted aircraft 5863. The sea area where the two fighters crashed was 32 m deep, with strong currents and a dense coral reef on the seabed.

According to VnExpress