Parts of a Myanmar Air Force fighter jet that went missing during a training mission on September 5 were found in southern Rakhine State last week, the Ministry of Information has reported.
The pieces from the G-4 jet were found 12 miles south of Gwa town, which is located five miles north of the jet’s last known location.
The plane went missing during a training mission that began in Pathein. It was meant to fly to Hinthada, then Gwa, before returning to Pathein, but the plane lost contact with Pathein Airport when it was 36 miles west of Pathein.
Myanmar’s army and air force have since been conducting search and rescue operations using planes and helicopters to find the missing plane and its pilot. The head of the jet, a wheel, two wings, a parachute, and other parts have been recovered, mostly in the same area south of Gwa.
The pilot has not been found, and the cause of the crash remains unknown.
The plane is thought to have been a Yugoslav-made Soko G-4, of which Myanmar had four units in service as of this year, according to Flight Global. The model is primarily used as a training jet by the Serbian Air Force.
Military aircraft accidents are not uncommon in Myanmar. In June, a China-made Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft crashed into the Andaman Sea, killing all 122 people on board. Bad weather was determined to be the cause of the crash, which was the deadliest aviation accident in Myanmar’s history.
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