A brief history of F-16 crashes in Pakistan

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Wing Commander Noman Akram was martyred when his F-16 fighter jet crashed near Shakarparian in Islamabad on Wednesday. The crash was the fourth PAF plane to go down this year, although it was the first F-16 fighter jet to crash in more than ten years.

Here is a brief look at the crashes that have befallen the elite fighter jet in Pakistan over the years. A number of F-16 aircraft crashed during the 1990s, but only one such incident was reported during the first decade of the twenty-first century. 

Read more: PAF F-16 jet crashes in Islamabad

1980s: Three crashes reported 

According to F-16.net, a PAF F-16 plane went down on 18 December 1986. The aircraft took off from Sargodha Airbase and hit a wild boar, causing the two pilots to eject. One of them was Sqn Ldr Faaiz Amir.

The website also reports that on 29 April 1987, a PAF F-16 was shot down by Wing Commander Amjad Javed - who had mistakenly targeted his wingman. Flight Lieutenant Shahid Sikandar Khan had ejected safely. 

On 4 September 1989, a PAF pilot was martyred when his plane went down shortly after take-off from Sargodha Airbase. According to F-16.net, the pilot stressed called his lead, Sqn.Ldr. Zafar Ahsan, telling him that he was disoriented. 

1990s: Five crashes reported

F-16.net reports that on 16 June 1991, an engine failure during a night training mission caused an F-16 jet to crash.  The pilot, Squadron Leader Syed Hassan Raza, ejected safely. The plane had taken off from Kamra Airbase. 

The same year, on 27 October, another engine failure during dogfight training mission caused an F-16 to crash in Attock. Squadron Leader Nadeem Anjum had ejected safely. The engine failure was caused by installing an unoriginal part in the engine during maintenance, the website said.

On 10 November 1993, a bird hit caused an F-16 to crash. Both pilots were able to eject safely before the plane hit the ground. 

In 1994, two crashes were reported. One on 17 March, and another on 22 October. A pilot was martyred in the the first incident, which occurred due to spatial dissorientation. In the second incident, caused by a bird hit, the pilot ejected safely. 

2000s: One crash reported

One F-16 crashed during the first decade of the new century. The incident happened on 17 July 2009, when during a routine night training mission, the plane crashed close to the village of NurPur, 105km south west of Sargodha. The pilot, Squadron Leader Saud Ghulam Nabi, was martyred.