KARACHI: A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plane crashed in north-western Pakistan during a training mission on Wednesday, killing the lone pilot, an official statement said.

The crash took place near Mardan district, some 47 kilometers (30 miles) from Peshawar, capital of the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders neighbouring Afghanistan.

“A small PAF aircraft has crashed near Mardan during a routine training mission,” a PAF statement said.

A spokesman later confirmed to Anadolu Agency that the pilot was killed in the crash.

 A committee has been constituted to find the cause behind the incident.

In a separate incident, a Pakistan Air Force trainer aircraft had crashed near Punjab Province's Attock city last month during a training session. A PAF statement had said that a board of Inquiry has been ordered to probe the accident.

In September 2020, another PAF trainer aircraft had crashed in the Attock district during a routine flight.

That same year in February, a PAF Mirage aircraft crashed near Shorkot in Punjab province during a routine operational training mission.