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Two Iranian fighter jet pilots killed in ‘ejector seat’ malfunction
Two pilots were killed after an Iranian F-5 fighter jet experienced a “technical fault” before take-off in southwestern Iran on Tuesday, a state-affiliated media outlet reported.
The IRNA reported that the incident took place at an airbase in Dezful city.
“The incident occurred on the ground and there had been no flying today,” said Ali Farahmandpour, deputy governor and special governor of Dezful as quoted by the IRNA.
The outlet did not provide further details.
Other reports, however, indicated that the ejector seats of the F-5 fighter plane accidentally engaged and fired both of the pilots into the hangar roof.
The age of the plane was not immediately clear. Iran’s air force still operates scores of planes bought from the United States before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
This comes after two people – a flight captain and a student pilot – were killed in an ultra-light training plane last month in the central Iranian province of Markazi.