Military plane crashes in central Vietnam, pilots found

The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. during a training exercise involving a Yak-130 jet, which was being operated by two pilots, the Ministry of National Defense said.

Phan Chi Hung, Chairman of Tay Son District People's Committee, said Wednesday afternoon that the authorities received a call at around 4:30 p.m. from Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Quan, one of the two pilots in the plane crash, reporting both of them were safe.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Quan (L) is found after a military plane crash in Binh Dinh Province, Nov. 6, 2024. Photo by Quy Nhon

The other pilot, Colonel Nguyen Van Son, managed to make a similar alert from his phone at 6:45 p.m.

According to information from the search force, as Quan had parachuted into a deep abyss, it took him a lot of time to climb up before he had a phone signal to call the unit, before his phone ran out of battery.

The authorities then mobilized hundreds of soldiers to the scene of the plane crash in Tay Phu Commune, Tay Son District, but no victim has been found.

The area with weak signals, hills, and heavy rain made it difficult for rescuers to reach the area.

Colonel Nguyen Van Son (C) is found after a military plane crash in Binh Dinh Province, Nov. 6, 2024. Photo by Quy Nhon

They found Quan at 8:20 p.m., and Son after 10 p.m. around one km away. Both were stable, and taken to hospital for health checks.

The Yak-130, a Russian-manufactured training jet, is capable of reaching speeds up to 1,060 kph and can fly at a maximum altitude of 12,500 meters.