Pakistani military aircraft crashes during training flight, killing 2 pilots

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani Air Force aircraft crashed during a routine training mission in an open area near the northwestern city of Mardan on Monday, killing both pilots, the military and officials said.

In a statement, the military identified the pilots as Flt. Lt. Muhammad Qasim Abdullah of the Pakistan Air Force and Lt. Taha Abbasi of the Navy. It said a board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the crash.

In separate statements, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and the armed forces expressed “deep grief” over the loss of lives and extended condolences to the families.

Military training crashes have occurred periodically in Pakistan, though details are often not immediately made public and investigation findings are rarely released. The latest crash comes less than a week after 22 soldiers were killed when an army helicopter went down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir due to a technical fault, according to the military.