Rescued Vietnamese pilot recounts crash of Russian-made fighter jet

One of two Vietnamese pilots from a Russian-made fighter jet was safely brought ashore on Wednesday after his warplane crashed over the East Vietnam Sea.

Nguyen Huu Cuong, 39, a pilot specializing in the Vietnam People’s Air Force’s Russian-made aircraft Su-30MK2, was escorted back to the mainland in the north-central province of Nghe An at around 1:00 pm on Wednesday.

Cuong and his co-pilot, 43-year-old Tran Quang Khai, who is still missing, were performing offshore aerial exercises with the Su-30MK2 by Nghe An when they lost contact with their operators on Tuesday morning.

Cuong was discovered by a local fishing boat on Wednesday morning after hours of drifting at sea.

“I am fine. I only have a few scratches,” the pilot said as he was warmly welcomed and embraced by his family members after being rescued.

“As lucky as I am for being found, I am upset and concerned about the well-being of my missing co-pilot,” Cuong continued.

According to Nguyen Van Manh, Cuong’s older brother, he and other members of the family caught a bus from their hometown in the northern province of Bac Giang to Nghe An after hearing about the accident.

“Once they informed me Cuong was safe, I felt as if I had been brought back to life,” Yen, the pilot’s wife, said.

Story of accident

Major Cuong had a brief conversation with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper via radio from the fishing ship of Pham Van Le, the captain who rescued him, as he was waiting for a rescue craft to bring him back ashore.

According to Cuong, he and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Khai started their mission at the Sao Vang airfield in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa before encountering trouble while approaching Mat Islet off Nghe An.

A small explosion was heard by the pilot, which indicated an emergency situation, resulting in Cuong and Khai ejecting from the plane.

“We decided to parachute. Khai ejected a few minutes before I did,” Cuong recounted.

The two pilots were about three kilometers apart during the descent and six kilometers apart after landing in the ocean, Cuong said.

Le said he discovered Cuong while fishing off Nghe An when he heard a voice calling for help at around 4:00 in the morning.

“We realized he was a pilot after rescuing him. We then took care of and fed him,” the fisherman recalled.

Full forces searching for missing pilot

Dinh Viet Hong, vice-chairman of the Nghe An People’s Committee and chief of the rescue committee, affirmed on Wednesday afternoon that he was coordinating with the Ministry of National Defense to look for Khai.

A total of 50 fishing boats in the locality were requested to assist in the mission, each carrying one border guard officer and a soldier, Hong stated.

At 10:00 pm the same day, the pilot was still missing, according to Colonel General Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.