A Pakistani Air Force aircraft crashed during a routine training mission in an open area near Mardan on Monday, killing both pilots on board.
The dead were identified as Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah of the Pakistan Air Force and Lieutenant Taha Abbasi of the Navy. The military said a board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the crash.
#Breaking Two Pakistani pilots killed today in #Pakistan
— Jack Straw (@JackStr42679640) June 15, 2026
Air Force training aircraft crash near Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah (PAF)
Lieutenant Taha Abbasi (Pakistan Navy)
The PAC MFI-395 Super Mushshak crashed during a routine training… pic.twitter.com/en50D56h2K
The nation's brass weighs in
In separate statements, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and the armed forces expressed “deep grief” over the loss of lives and extended condolences to the families.
The crash immediately drew attention because it involved personnel from two branches of the armed forces. It happened during a training sortie rather than an operational mission.
Disturbing images, unanswered questions
A video supposedly depicting the tragedy emerged online, capturing the aircraft’s final moments before contact.
In the video, debris was seen flying everywhere as the plane abruptly crashed to the ground and exploded into a flame. The video's legitimacy hasn't been independently confirmed.
🚨🛩️🇵🇰 Pakistan Air Force MFI-17 Mushshak trainer aircraft has crashed on Katlang Road in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
— برهان الدین | Burhan uddin (@burhan_uddin_0) June 15, 2026
Two pilots and two civilians have been killed in the incident.
Videos from the crash site are continuing to emerge further details are still being reported. pic.twitter.com/V1QKJtrbne
Another chapter in a troubling pattern
The incident came less than a week after another fatal military aviation accident in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where an army helicopter crashed and 22 soldiers were killed.
The military said that the crash was caused by a technical fault. Military training crashes occur periodically in Pakistan, while details and investigation findings are often not made public immediately.
The latest crash now adds another fatal episode to that pattern, with the cause still under investigation.
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FAQs
Q1: Where did the Pakistani military aircraft crash?
Ans: The aircraft crashed in an open area near Mardan in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during a training flight.
Q2: How many people were killed in the Pakistan Air Force training aircraft crash?
Ans: Two pilots were killed when the aircraft went down during the routine training mission.
