An Algerian fighter jet has crashed during an overnight training exercise, killing its two crew members, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
The Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24 plane went down at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20 in an agricultural area near Rechaïga in Tiaret province, around 250 km (155 miles) southwest of Algiers, the ministry said in a statement.
The pilot and co-pilot were killed during the scheduled night-time training flight from Ain Oussara Air Base, it said, adding that it was investigating the causes of the accident.
The Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is variable-sweep wing ground attack twin-engine jet first developed in the 1960s. Its two crew sit side-by-side.
It was the latest in a string of aviation disasters over recent years that have claimed hundreds of lives in the North African country.
In April 2018, an Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane crashed a field near an airbase south of Algiers, killing 257 people – Algeria’s deadliest such incident in 20 years.
It was mostly carrying army personnel and their family members on their way back to their barracks in the country’s far south.
In 2014, an Algerian Air Force Su-24 crashed during a training flight killing both crew.
Some previous accidents were due to poor maintenance of the military fleet, Algerian media has reported.
With reporting from AFP
