The picture shows crash site of a PAF fighter jet that occurred near Peshawar earlier this year. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Friday ordered a board of inquiry to determine the cause of its Mirage aircraft crash on a night routine training mission near Thal Range last night.

A Mirage aircraft, while on a night routine training mission, had crashed near Thal Range, District Jhang on Thursday night.

According to a PAF spokesman, the pilot, Squadron Leader Bilal Hassan Babri, succumbed to fatal injuries he sustained during the crash.

He said no loss to civilian life or property on ground has been reported.

An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of crash. — File Photo by AP

KARACHI: A Pakistani fighter jet crashed in the south of the country on Friday while on routine training, an air force official said, but the pilot ejected safely and there were no casualties on the ground.

The Mirage-V plane took off from the Pakistan Air Force’s Masroor Base in Karachi and crashed near the town of Sonmiani in Balochistan province, air force spokesman Squadron Leader Mohammad Nadeem told AFP.

Sonmiani is around 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Karachi.

“The pilot ejected successfully and safely,” the spokesman said, adding the cause of the accident would be determined after investigation.

No loss of civilian life or property was reported on ground.

The Pakistan Air Force has a fleet of Chinese aircraft including F-7PGs and A-5s, plus US-built F-16s and French Mirages. It recently acquired JF-17, or Thunder jets, manufactured jointly by China and Pakistan.

It was the fourth air force jet to crash in training in over three months.—File Photo

QUETTA: A pilot was killed when his Pakistan Air Force plane crashed Wednesday during a training mission in Balochistan province, an air force spokesman said.

“It was a Chinese-made F-7PG training aircraft,” Air Commodore Anis Mirza told AFP.

The plane crashed in Pishin district, 65 kilometres north of the provincial capital Quetta, during a “routine” training mission, he said, adding that the pilot “embraced martyrdom”.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, he said. An investigation is under way.

It was the fourth air force jet to crash in training in over three months.

Two pilots were killed in the other incidents and a helicopter crash last June killed four military personnel.

The Pakistan Air Force has a fleet of Chinese aircraft including F-7PGs and A-5s, plus US-built F-16s and French Mirages. It recently acquired medium-tech JF-17, or Thunder jets, manufactured jointly by China and Pakistan.