Pakistani fighter jet crashes in Khyber Agency, pilot killed

A Pakistani Air Force F-7PG fighter jet has crashed in the country’s restive northwestern region of Khyber Agency.

According to a statement released by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), the aircraft went down on Saturday in the vicinity of the town of Jamrud near the entrance to Khyber Pass, which connects Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Omer Shazad, “sustained fatal injuries,” the PAF statement said.

The statement added that the aircraft, “while on a routine operational training mission,” was completely destroyed but “no loss of civilian life and property has been reported on [the] ground.”

Some officials say a technical fault was the reason behind the crash, but the Headquarters of Pakistan Air Force has tasked a board of inquiry to determine the cause of the accident.

A heavy contingent of security forces has already been dispatched to the mountainous area of the crash site, which lies some 31 kilometers west of the city of Peshawar.

Last month, a dozen people lost their lives when a Pakistani army helicopter crashed in the northwest of the country.

SS