Pakistan Air Force has lost another F-16 aircraft. This time though, not in an escalatory situation but during a rehearsal for a March 23 flypast, reported a Pakistani newspaper, Dawn. The incident took place near Shakarparian, Islamabad today, added the Karachi-based newspaper in its report. The Pakistan Air Force headquarter has ordered a probe to look into the cause that led to the plane crash, however, the statement from the Pak Air Force HQ has not made any mention of the pilot who was flying the crashed F-16. “We are ascertaining the losses,” reported the news agency Reuters citing the spokesman of Pakistan Air Force.

Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari tweeted confirming the news of the F-16 crash and added that there were reports that the Pakistan Air Force pilot may have ejected.

Pakistan daily The Dawn shared a video of the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 crash on Instagram, adding that initial reports suggested that there were no casualties.

 

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Pakistan Air Force has seen multiple aircraft crashes in the last few months. Three PAF training aircraft have crashed in the last two months leading up to the current crash. On February 12, a PAF trainer aircraft had crashed near Takht Bhai in Mardan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province amid a routine training. Just 5 days before that incident, another PAF Mirage aircraft had crashed in the range of Lahore-Multan Motorway. The pilots of both the aircraft escaped unharmed before the crashes had taken place. However, the pilots of another PAF aircraft were not as lucky and had lost their lives in an FT-7 aircraft crash during a training mission crash near Mianwali in January, earlier this year. According to the reports in the Pakistani media, the deceased pilots were Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman.