Wreckage of Missing Military Jet Found

By Salai Thant Zin 19 October 2017

PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Region — The wreckage of a Myanmar Air Force training jet that went missing more than one month ago was found on Wednesday evening, some 12 miles south of Gwa Township in Rakhine State.

The G-4 military training aircraft flown by two pilots disappeared during a training exercise over Pathein, Gwa, Hinthada, and back to Pathein, the capital of Irrawaddy Region, on Sept. 5. The plane lost contact about 36 miles northwest of Pathein.

A senior military officer who joined the search for the aircraft confirmed on the condition of anonymity to The Irrawaddy that the wreckage was recovered on Wednesday evening.

He said more troops would be brought on the area on Thursday to continue the search.

Ground troops carried out the search for the missing aircraft, with help from the air force’s aircraft and helicopters.

On Wednesday—the 44th day of the search and rescue mission—troops found the plane’s nose cone, one wheel, two wings, and machine parts, according to a statement from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. The statement also said “seat” and “parachute” were recovered but did not clarify whether it was one or two.

The search continues for pilot Maj. Kaung Htike and co-pilot Capt. Thaw Zin Soe along with the rest of the wreckage. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

The incident came two months after a Chinese-made Y-8-200F Myanmar military transport plane crashed into the Andaman Sea on route to Yangon, killing all 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board. State media in July said the plane nosedived into the sea because of bad weather.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.