Finnene mistet to Hawks

2 Finnish air force Hawk jets collide, pilots eject


HELSINKI - The Finnish defense force says that two Hawk jets have collided in midair during a training flight and that both pilots ejected.

The air force says officials have been in contact with one of the pilots but gave no details in a brief statement on its website. It declined to take calls, saying that all information would be posted online.

The statement said the accident occurred in a sparsely populated area of western Finland at 12:13 p.m. Wednesday (1013 GMT) and that two parachutes were observed in the sky.

The air force says that since 1958 ejector seats have been used 27 times during accidents and that one pilot was killed in a collision with another jet in 2001.

Oppdatering:

News 13.11.2013 16:41 | updated 13.11.2013 17:53

Pilot dead in Hawk collision

An air force pilot has died in a training accident in western Finland. Two Hawk training aircraft collided over Kauhava early this afternoon. One pilot died in the incident, while the other has been taken to hospital.

Hawk planes are used for training Finnish pilots. Image: Yle / Anssi Leppänen

One pilot died and the other was hospitalised following a crash involving training aircraft in western Finland. The crash happened when two Hawk planes collided at 12:13 over Lestijärvi near the Kauhava air base.

Both pilots ejected from their planes, and the wreckage of both aircraft has been found. The Air Force has called a press conference for 6pm when they will provide more details