Jordanian military pilots killed in training crash

The two were in a German-built plane that went down in northern Jordan

A Grob 120 training plane. Photo: Flickr/ Alan Wilson

Two pilots were killed in a training plane crash on Sunday, the Jordanian Army said.

The officers were aboard a German-built Grob trainer when it “fell” in an empty space in Ramtha governorate, close to the border with Syria, the army said in a statement.

The crew, Maj Bilal Al Shofeen and Capt Bahaa Abu Ghanmeh, died “as a result of the plane's fall” after they were taken to a hospital, the statement said, without giving further details.

Jordan has reported several air training deaths in the last decade. In 2015, a Jordanian instructor and his Iraqi student were killed when their jet fighter crashed in the north of the country.

In 2013 and 2014, three pilots were killed on a training missions in the region.

According to GlobalSecurity.org, Jordan's Air Force has 12,000 active personnel.