Three people, including an eleven-year old girl and two pilots, were killed when two fighter jets crashed twice separately in Minbu Township, Magway region on October 16, said MP Tin Aung Tun of Minbu Constituency.
A fighter jet crashed into a cultivated land near Sarpwat Stream in Minbu killing its parachuted pilot as well as an eleven-year old girl who was studying in front of her house in No.1 ward of Minbu.
Witnesses said the plane hit a telecommunications tower before crashed. The debris from the plane and the tower were scattered around on nearby houses. A house was damaged as debris came flying through the window while a piece of debris from the plane slammed into the girl on her back. She was immediately sent to Minbu District Hospital but died later from her wounds.
“The pieces flew everywhere and one of those nearly hit a tenth grader also but fortunately hit a box storing books instead. The unfortunate child that lost her life was hit directly by a piece of the wreckage from the jet to her back,” said Ma Po.
A local said, “I went to the site after it crash landed. Both the plane and the pilot was in many pieces.”
Another pilot was also killed in another accident occurring at a plantation near Tanutpinsu village about six miles north of Minbu. The body of the pilot was found intact amongst the wreckage.
“Both of them are single-seat fighter jet pilots. Both pilots were killed,” said the MP.
“When I made an inquiry to the air force base in Magway, it confirmed that both planes took off from them. They were flying in group formation. But they couldn’t give further details as it is still under investigation. I was also sadly confirmed by them that both pilots died from those accidents,” he said.
Locals from Minbu are now even more concerned about the plane crashes as refineries and liquefied Petroleum Gas factory are located in their town.
“It makes me worry that if the crashes had not occurred in fields, it would have been a bigger a disaster,” he said.
He continued, “I assume that the air force needs to review the flight paths in urban areas. If one of the planes had crashed landed on liquefied Petroleum Gas factory or refineries, it could have ignited. I also cannot imagine the consequences if a plane were to crash amidst populated areas. I have to think of things I could do as a MP.”
The aviation authorities came to recover the wreckages of two fighter jets without delay. Bombs and bullets were also found among the debris. The region’s chief minister Dr Aung Moe Nyo, officials and MPs also came to inspect the crashed site.
Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services announced that two F-7 fighter jets from Magway air base had crashed while they were performing regular training flights.
The disaster supposedly occurred due to bad weather when the jets were on their way to their base.
A total of four F-7 fighter jets returned to the air base and faced with bad weather. They tried to control their jets and two of them managed to land safely. One jet plummeted into a paddy field and another jet nose-dived into a cultivated land, both crashes killing its two pilots: Captain Hein Thu Aung and Captain Phyo Maung Maung.
