Search for Su30-MK2 military plane ends

Hanoi (VNA) - The search to find a Su30-MK2 aircraft that crashed off central Nghe An Province has ended, Duong Minh Hien , deputy commander of central Nghe An Province’s Military Command, told local media on July 29.

Naval forces, responsible for retrieving the plane’s debris, have not officially announced whether the wreckage had been retrieved, he said.

The Su30 MK2 military plane, coded 8585, of Regiment 923 under Division 371 of the Air Defence – Air Force Service, reportedly crashed into the sea while flying off Nghe An-Thanh Hia provinces, 40km to the northeast of Hon Mat Island .

“Some floating pieces have been found by fishermen and have been handed over to border soldiers,” Colonel Hien said.

On July 26, a fisherman in Nghe An Province found metal pieces and electric wires, weighing 10kg, and handed them over to soldiers.

The fighter jet took off from Sao Vang airport in the central Thanh Hoa Province on June 14 on a training session.

When the plane lost contact, the two pilots, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Khai and Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, bailed out and the plane crashed into the sea.

Cuong was saved by fishermen, while Khai’s body was found and taken to the mainland four days after the accident.

During the search and rescue mission for the plane, CASA 212, coded 8983, of Brigade 918 of the Air Defence – Air Force Service and its nine crew members lost contact while flying south-southeast off Bach Long Vi Island.

All nine crew members were believed to have perished , the Ministry of Defence said.-VNA