Article Posted on : - Mar 05, 2015

PAF's Mirage fighter. An official photo

ISLAMABAD (PTI): A Pakistani Mirage fighter aircraft crashed on Wednesday during a routine training flight in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing both the pilot and co-pilot.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said that the French-made jet went down near Dera Ismail Khan town.

"Pakistan Air Force reports with regret that a PAF Mirage Aircraft, while on a routine operational training mission, crashed," the PAF said in a statement.

Air Commodore Shafqat Mushtaq and Flight Lieutenant Sohaib Rasheed were killed in the crash.

A search and rescue operation is underway, while a board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of accident.

The immediate cause of the crash was not known but it appeared to be due to some technical fault.