A training plane of Bangladesh Air Force crashed into the sea yesterday, leaving its pilot missing in the Bay of Bengal, officials said.
The F-7 trainer crashed soon after it took off from an air-base at Patenga, some 220km southeast of the capital Dhaka, Wing Commander Noor-e-Alam, manager of Shah Amanat International Airport, told local media.
But the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) of the Bangladesh Armed Forces said the plane went missing 30 minutes after it took off.
“The aircraft was on regular training mission,” Nurul Islam, assistant director of ISPR, said.
Local boatmen claimed that they have seen some damaged parts of the of plane floating in the sea after the crash.
The Bangladesh air force and navy had launched a search operation, he added.
