Two pilots killed in air force plane crash

AMMAN — A Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot and his student were killed when their  jet  fighter crashed early Monday in the North of the Kingdom during a training mission, according to an army statement.

Colonel Ibrahim Hassouneh (Jordanian), and student pilot Laith Ali, who holds  Iraqi nationality, were killed in the crash of Firefly jet fighter  that took place in an area between Ramtha District and Mafraq Governorate, the statement said. 

However, reasons for the crash have not been identified according to  Jordan Armed Forces Spokesperson Colonel Mamdouh Ameri.

“The causes for the crash are yet to be identified. The Royal Jordanian Air Force started the investigation immediately,” Ameri told The Jordan Times. 

Over the past few years, a number of air force pilots have lost their lives in similar accidents, mostly during routine flights or training, including Lieutenant Hazem Al Matar, who died in a similar accident April last year.

Also in May 2013, pilot Lt. Col. Maen Duheisat and student pilot Nael Khashman were killed in a crash near the King Hussein Airbase in Mafraq, close to the Syrian border, when their Firefly plane crashed due to technical problems.

Hassouneh was laid to rest in a military funeral in Sahab on Monday afternoon. 

With the national flag draping his coffin, the colonel was laid to rest in the presence of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben along with Interior Minister Hussein Majali and a number of civil and military senior officials, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.