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Pilot dies after warplane crashes in east-central Jordan

Monday, 05 December 2016 4:08 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 05 December 2016 4:49 PM ]

This file photo shows two F-16 fighter jets of the Royal Jordanian Air Force in flight.

A single-engine, supersonic and multirole F-16 fighter jet of the Royal Jordanian Air Force has gone down in the country’s east-central province of Zarqa after take-off during a training mission.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military aircraft was flying over Azraq town, located 100 kilometers east of the capital Amman, on Monday, when it experienced a technical glitch and crashed.

The slain pilot was later identified as Major Ayed Ahmad al-De'ajah.

The Jordanian air force reportedly has around 60 F-16 fighter jets.

On April 6, 2015, a two-seat Slingsby T67 Firefly aerobatic training aircraft of the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed north of the capital, killing the Jordanian pilot and his trainee pilot.

Colonel Mamdouh al-Amiri, spokesman for the Jordanian military, identified the victims as Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Hassouneh and Iraqi national Laith Nasser.

Jordan’s military suffered a similar incident in 2013, when another Firefly training aircraft crashed, killing the two pilots on board.

Jordan joined the so-called US-led military coalition against Daesh in September 2014. The contingent purports to be carrying out airstrikes against the terrorists’ positions both in Iraq and Syria.

In early 2015, Amman extended its anti-Daesh aerial attacks to Iraq after the terrorists released a video of Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Maaz al-Kassasbeh burning to death.

Kassasbeh had been captured by Daesh militants on December 24, 2014, after his F-16 jet crashed while flying over northern Syria on a mission against the terrorists.

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