Express News screengrab of the scene after the crash.
Officials said that the crash left at least four people dead and nine others injured.
"Both pilots embraced martyrdom in the fighter jet crash today," an air force spokesperson said.
Police said two people on the ground were also killed and nine injured.
Sajid Sadozai, a senior police official, told AFP two buses parked at the terminal were destroyed while another was damaged.
TV footage showed plumes of black smoke rising from the scene as rescue teams rushed in.
Another security official said the crashed plane was a Mirage fighter jet. Pakistan has a large fleet of refurbished Mirages.
The air force blamed the crash on technical reasons but gave no details.
According to SP Baldia, the plane erupted in flames after the crash. A fire brigade is in the area to extinguish the fire.
The area was cordoned off and the injured have been taken to hospital for treatment.
COMMENTS (52)
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My friend's brother was the pilot who died in this crash. R.I.P May Allah (subhanatallah) give them the deserved destination.
@Capt Ahsan:
The Pilots had no business training over the populatated areas. If this was an authorised military training exercise, one could imagine that they were making practicing runs before attacking the waziri villages targetting the marked dwelling but not all. This is more sinister. The air Vice should be suspended until the situation is fully investigated and clarified. You better make sure Sir, that you fly safely lest people stop flying Emirates!
Rex Minor
@Shah (Berlin):
You are as ignorant as your comment is!! No airforce in the world will allow trining flights over population, not even in Berlin. We learn to fly non motorised vehicles called gliders, and you could go on the weakend to one of the nearest flying schools and watch and learn to fly if you wish. It was not the fault of the pilots but of the officer in charge above them, who must be investigated and fired if he did approve training over populated area.
Rex Minor
@Kanwal Hasan:
Good point! the pilot is not at fault but the civilians relying on the Pilot to piolot the aircraft safely was a grave error.
Rex Minor
Dear H Chaudhry, Although the following quote is not particularly relevant to the main article it is somewhat applicable. Cicero was a wise man, but perhaps he should also have included; :"no more wars, stop eulogizing the military and reduce the military budget".
BEST QUOTE OF ANY ERA``The Budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome will become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance." - Cicero, 55 BC
Evidently we have not learned very much over the past 2,069 years.**I don't understand the ranting that is going on in here even by some of those who display not an inch of understanding of Aviation. For Military Purpose there are only designated areas in the country for their operations called MOA's (Military Ops Areas) that further inhibit MTR's (Military Training Routes). Other Areas called Alert or Restricted Areas also at times fall under military operations when an Active exercise is going along. This gives military complete jurisdiction in its Airspace that means where to fly or not to fly is not by choice but by designed airspace envelope where the mission training is to be carried out. Having said that, emotions aside, the military pilot vows to stick to the Mission Mindset and SAFETY is one of the LAST priority in military aviation. However, in Civil or Commercial Aviation, the prime concern is Safety as famous adage we use is Safety First, Comfort Second. So, changing the aircraft for better in PAF or not running an Air Force entirely as few comments upstairs suggest, will serve no purpose as the TRAINING PHILOSOPHY OF THE TWO DIFFERENT NATURE OF FLYING ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! Crashes are a trivial business in military and will continue to be till the time the MISSION MINDSET is not treated with the SAFETY CONCEPTS understanding that the AIRCRAFTS ARE FOR HUMANS TO USE, HUMANS ARE NOT FOR AIRCRAFTS TO FUSE!
Boeing 777 Captain Capt. Ahsan Emirates**
Just buried Sqn Ldr Umair Ilahi in Attock. He was my cousin's eldest son. Rest in peace Umair & Khurram.All Pakistanis are sad.
@H Chaudhry: Dear H Chaudhry, No apologies needed. You are merely stating the obvious. Unfortunately, we appear to be a minority, and for some tragic reason our so called leaders belong to the majority. Perhaps that is why the world is in such a mess.
@Humza The 20% budget that military takes is mostly spent on upkeep of a million plus military. I do not think that this large of military is need of this time. Pakistan have a deterrent in nuclear capability. It is important in my opinion to have a small but more sophisticated military and equipment.
@All apologies if I came as not respectful but I think being honest to ourselves is the first and foremost responsibility. Regardless of our opinions. It is important to be objective and truthful.
The truth is bitter and may we want to call 1948 a victory, truth is that 2/3 of Kashmir belongs to the winning army that retook it after surprise attack and early victories of tribal folks. Weather we want to call 1965 a victory, truth is that at best it was draw and the loses of superiorly equipped Pakistan army were much higher on average that had a long term impact. 1971, well 90,000 went to indian jails. In 1984, in plain sight India took Siachen and today they hold every high peek of Siachen, I think by all means that was a body blow to our forces. Now finally 1999, India still owns Kargil, they were ready to fight full scale war which offcourse our army didn't want and we all know what happened later.
I don't want to put our forces down, my father was a fighter pilot and my brother is currently serving but I cant lie to myself. The truth is that our military has taken over this country and its finances and yet it is nothing but numbers and a very poor record. There is nothing wrong with accepting shortcomings and work on these to better ourselves.
A small, agile, well equipped military is needed instead of this huge military with world war 2 tanks, ships, 1970s aircrafts etc.
ET - I know its a lot for you to post this as I am pointing fingers to Untouchables in Pakistan but it is your responsibility to let my post appear and people may read the other side of history that they are neither taught nor shown.
One could bring out the often used phrase, " they won every battle but lost the war". I think we have to get over the childish notion of heroes, and supporting wars as if they are a contest between two sports teams. The bottom line is that any money spent on military entanglements is less that can be spent on hospitals, schools,and general infrastructure. We really should be looking at the big picture, but from the missives above it does not appear that it will happen. At the present time, rather than solving problems we appear to be creating rather than solving them. Looking at world peace generally I would estimate that we are currently undergoing the worst crisis since WWII. The world, and Pakistan, deserve better, and India/Pakistan should resolve their childish spats quickly.
@H Chaudhry: Never won any war ? What are you talking about? Didn't Chuck Yaeger the US pilot who broke the sound barrier praise the PAF which he said won almost major air battles against India? Unfortunately accidents happen a lot with fighter jets. For those who can't read, the accident report says an old Mirage crashed. Does that mean you want Pakistan to invest in newer fighter jets to match the air force expansion of India?
One of the pilots, Khuram Samad was my cousin, he had always been our hero, and will remain our hero. Khuram has left the entire family in tears. May Allah accept his sacrifice and may He accept Khuram's Shadath
RIP PAF pilots.
@Kashif: bro it is not mashaq , it is mirage aircraft fully equipped with ejectionable seat
@H Chaudhry: Unfortunately training accidents happen in all air forces even with brand new fighter jets - it's inherent in the job description and all fighter pilots understand this. That's why Western air forces also have accidents of this nature so it's strange how some writers here pretend to know why and how a Mirage jet crashed in a training exercise. Top of the line American and European jets have crashed regularly too in training accidents. As for South Asia, the nation that spends the most on weapons is India - not just in absolute terms but in terms of percentage of its GDP. Pakistan already spends much less but must maintain its minimum deterrent. Apart from 1971, the smaller Pakistani military has been more than a match for the much larger Indian military and the Pakistani air force is known to have bested its Indian rival so why would you deny Pakistan its minimum deterrent? I don't know how you don't know the history of wars in South Asia. Pakistan may have lost 1971 War while in internal civil war with Bangalis but 1965 Rann of Kutch was victory and 1965 Kashmir War was a draw, and 1947 was a victory that at least liberated part of Kashmir against tricks of British and Indians.
cant they use the term 'embraced shahadat' instead of died...
Only way getting out of PAF these days is if you die..."slavery till death". Not to mention the flying coffins they fly and take pride in.
@H Chaudhry: Dear H Chaudhry, I quite agree that a much smaller defence budget is in order, on a world world wide basis, but am afraid that most of the world's countries are run by people who give a very good imitation of suffering from severe psychiatric disorders. I do not think we should expect improvement any-time-soon. In regard to the accident, both the military personnel and civilians have my sympathy.
Military flying is a dangerous business. All those involved are well aware of the risks. That said there is nothing more thrilling than going at 500 knots at tree top level, which makes taking the risk worth while. Accidents will continue to happen in the future every so many flying hours based statistical facts and military flying will continue all over the world.
I applaud USCENTCOM engagement on these comment sections and may the families of these pilots stay strong.
It is about time for people of Pakistan to think if it is worth it to maintain this large of a military with this old of an equipment. It is time to make absolutely necessary reforms in our military that consumers 20% of budget but has never won any war. I love my forces but let the truth be told. Lets have a smaller, well equipped and trained military.
@Ashraf: I am happy about the arrest. Wish they lock him up for ever.
@Mani:
It is always sad to see lives lost, especially in accidents like these. May Allah accept sacrifice of the pilots and the innocent people on ground. I am not saying our politicians are angels but I was amazed to see you brought in politicians and somehow want to blame them for this. It would be incompetence of Air force technical staff, (if it was indeed a technical cause that brought the plane down). Why blame politicians for this accident/incompetence???
All those people who say fighter pilots train over populated areas should tell where does it happen in Europe or USA.
i wanted to become a gdp but did not stand a chance, thanks God i say now, killing your own people flying aircrafts that kills yourself ... 9yards
@ All,
Mirages are too old. PAF should drop them. Or we will be hearing this in years to come.
Khurram (one of the polits) is like my brother... we grew up together..went to same school, My brother (also PAF pilot) were always together in think-n-thin.... our hearts are bleeding... please remember them in your prayers. May Allah give strength to their families... and guidance to our politicians who knowingly jeapordize these young lives...
RIP merey bachy.... our prayers are with you
@Singh: Baldia township is in flight path, approach to PAF Masroor, also their is a garbage dump before the 'finals'. Due to which there are bird strikes, and, if a big bird is ingested in the engine this is the outcome.
Military flying is a dangerous business. Everyone involved with it knows that and has accepted the risk as nothing can beat the thrill of going at 500knots at tree top level.
The pilot was my entry mate and the best friend of mine. May Allah bless the departed soul with rest in peace. Ameen sum ameen. Please pray for him and his family. JazakAllah
@Rex Minor: What a disgusting comment! Please keep your illogical comments to yourself when you don't know anything about the event, and comment like you know everything!
@Rex Minor
you are rally ignorant. Fighter planes do fly over population. Otherwise there wont be able to fly at all...!!!!
REX WITH BRAIN
@Mohammad:
Dear brother European also invest on their military. Eurofighter was not made by Pakistanis or Indians...!!!! Please check out the amount being invested in EADS Systems...Get your facts correct..!!!
@ Kanwal,
I replied earlier but still Mirage being used for training pilots. What was the year of manufacturing, how many times overhauled. Sister Kanwal we know and we forget.
RIP brave men. People don't understand what training mean & start blaming aircraft. It can be human error.
@Rex Minor: wt an ignorant comment! the plane was abt to land at masroor. u should ask wt the civilian population was doing there.
@Kashif: it was a mirage and not a mushak.
Our heart and prayers go out to the families and friends of the pilots who died in this crash. We sincerely hope that they will find the strength to deal with this tragedy.
Ali Khan Digital Engagement Team, USCENTCOM
A very sad moment for all the Pakistanis's.. Please introduce proper flying jets for the youth so that we may not face all this. Due to tough weather as well, these birds should be kept in museum.. We cannot afford loosing pilots anymore :( "Salute" to the Pilots - we will miss you.
@Mohammad: obviously you have posted comment without reading the news item...its not about India or Pakistan. ..its about an accident.
@ET in the name of moderation you keep on ignoring comments on related issues and allowing irrelevant ones to post.
@ Anil,
If Mirage, then its outdated training for young pilots. For Allah's sake stop using Mirages now, or give back those two pilots to their parents. (Wake up PAF as we are also awake).
Na mate , it was a small training aircraft --- people at site suggest it was not a jet fighter
@Mohammad: No one is forcing them to be part of those institutions.
@Kashif: if was a Mirage mate
Sad day for Pakistan. Quaid-e-Tehreek, the greatest Pakistani leader since Quaid-e-Azam was arrested today and now this.
@Mohammad: Border is not the issue , terror religion is.There is no effective border between India,Nepal and Bhutan
@Waqas:
Not a crime? A daylight robbery in destroying two aircrafts! What was their mission in the civilian area?
Rex Minor
Sad - RIP. PAF / Army already dying in western areas and our politicians are enjoying the demoCRAZY.
Once the most cruel people on the planet, the Europeans do not have any border now...and the India and Pakistan are scarifying their youth in these kind of training incidents.
Everyday now and than we are getting such news from India & Pakistan.
Why you guys are using the 'crime scene' photo with this news? It is not a crime but an accident!