Pilot dies in Myanmar military plane crash
A Myanmar pilot died on 3 April after a ‘technical failure’ caused his military jet fighter to plummet into a paddy field in the centre of the country, the Myanmar Army said.
A live video on Facebook showed flames billowing up from the crash site near Kyunkone village about an hour away from the capital Naypyidaw.
Local people found the unconscious body of the pilot attached to his parachute nearby and tried to drag him away from the scattered debris for medical help.
The army chief’s office later confirmed on its Facebook page that the crash was due to a ‘technical failure’ and that the pilot died of his injuries on the way to a military hospital in nearby Taungoo town.
The post added: ‘An investigation is ongoing.’
Police told AFP that the single-seat F-7 jet fighter went down around 10am on 3 April morning while a military source said the pilot, Major Arkar Win, was in his mid-30s.
The F-7 is a Cold War era fighter jet – a Chinese made variant of the Soviet Union’s original MiG-21 (pictured).
Myanmar has seen a spate of aviation accidents in recent years, including another military plane crash in June 2017 in which 122 people were killed.
Bad weather caused the Chinese-built Shaanxi Y8, which was carrying dozens of soldiers and more than 70 relatives of servicemen to crash into the Andaman Sea.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain]()
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.
-
![How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces]()
How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces
Saab has outlined how it is using artificial intelligence to make training more like electronic gaming, while the UK’s Power Size Technologies is applying the same technology to better evaluate and design vehicle capability, moving AI-enabled innovation further upstream from the frontline.
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
