A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) trainer aircraft crashed on Wednesday while on a routine training mission near Takht Bhai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mardan district, the PAF said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the PAF added that the pilot ejected safely before the crash

"A board of inquiry has been ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of [the] accident," the press release said.

This is the third PAF training aircraft to have crashed while on a routine training mission in less than two months.

Last Friday, a PAF Mirage aircraft, which was on a routine operational training mission, had crashed near the Lahore-Multan Motorway. The pilot had managed to eject safely in that incident as well.

Earlier in January, a PAF aircraft had crashed while on a training mission near Mianwali. Both pilots, Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman, aboard the PAF FT-7 aircraft had lost their lives in the crash.