Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Hồng Quân was found at 8.05pm on Wednesday night. VNA/VNS Photos

BÌNH ĐỊNH — The two pilots involved in a military aircraft crash during a training flight in the central province of Bình Định’s Tây Sơn District were found safe on Wednesday night.

Both pilots were reported to be in stable condition and have been brought down from the mountain.

The search and rescue team located Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Hồng Quân, chief flight instructor of the regiment, at 8:05pm.

By 10:30pm, they found Colonel Nguyễn Văn Sơn, Commander of Air Force Regiment 940, about 1km away from Colonel Quân’s location.

Both pilots were confirmed to be in stable health.

Colonel Nguyễn Văn Sơn, Commander of Air Force Regiment 940, (middle), was found about one km away from Colonel Quân’s location.

Earlier, at around 4:30pm, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Quân contacted his unit via mobile phone, indicating he was on a mountain peak, though weak signals made the exact location unclear. He assured them he was in good health.

Around 6.45pm, additional information came through from Colonel Sơn’s mobile phone.

On November 6, Air Force Regiment 940, part of the Air Defence-Air Force Service, conducted a training session using a Yak-130 military aircraft at Phù Cát Airport in Bình Định Province.

The training, named Flight Mission 208, included long-distance maneuvers, air navigation, and cloud penetration under challenging weather conditions.

Colonel Sơn was in the front cockpit, while Senior Lieutenant Colonel Quân occupied the rear cockpit.

The aircraft took off at 9:55am, but at 10:38am, an issue occurred when they attempted to land. The landing gear failed to deploy, and emergency protocols did not succeed.

The pilots ejected and parachuted to safety at 10.51am near the TB2 shooting range in Tây Sơn District.

Hundreds of officers and soldiers were deployed to search for the pilots in the forest. Modern equipment was utilised by the search teams to locate and assist them. — VNS