Vietnam military aircraft hits wall on landing as gear fails to deploy

By Gia Chinh, Hoang Thuy   April 23, 2019 | 06:10 pm PT
Vietnam military aircraft hits wall on landing as gear fails to deploy
An Vietnam Air Force's Su-22 fighter-bomber that crashed during training in northern Vietnam, April 23, 2019. Photo acquired by VnExpress
A Vietnam Air Force Su-22 fighter-bomber crashed into a wall while landing at an airbase in Yen Bai Province but the pilot was unharmed.

The mishap occurred at around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday with Lieutenant Colonel Phan Trung Hai of the 921st Regiment, 371st Air Force Division, at the controls of the Sukhoi Su-22M4 fighter-bomber on a training mission.

While attempting to land, he reported being unable to deploy the landing gear and requested permission to reduce altitude for deploying the emergency landing gear.

With the emergency landing gear successfully deployed, Hai proceeded to land on the runway and deploy its parachute. But since the speed was still too great, the parachute's lines snapped and the plane shot past the end of the runway and crashed into a wall.

In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that "the pilot is safe, the aircraft suffered minor damage."

Authorities of Tran Yen District in the northern province, five hours northwest of Hanoi, said a ground officer tasked with guiding aircraft was injured.

According to local residents, the area where the incident occurred used to be hilly and is uninhabited. The military moved in recently and leveled some hills for basic construction.

The ministry and the High Command of the People's Air Force have ordered an investigation into the cause of the incident.

Last July a Sukhoi Su-22 belonging to the same regiment crashed while on a regular training mission over the central province of Nghe An, resulting in the death of both pilots.

 
 
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