Royal Thai Air Force Pilot Killed in Crash During Cobra Gold

The wreckage of an F16 fighter lies in a forested area

LOP BURI – Royal Thai Air Force pilot Lieutenant Noppanon Niwasanon was killed, when his F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in a central province, an Military official said.

According to the Royal Thai Air Force spokesperson, the fighter aircraft, which belongs to the Air Force base in Nakhon Ratchasima, crashed during a training exercise in Chai Badan district.

The Lop Buri Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation disclosed that the F-16 fighter jet crashed on a hill which is quite remote from residential areas. Search and rescue teams have been sent out to inspect the crash site.

A piece of the F-16 fighter jet is found at the crash site in Khok Samrong district in Lop Buri

In 2010, another F-16A crashed near the Thai-Myanmar border during a training flight, killing the pilot. A year later, two F-16 planes taking part in a Cobra Gold exercise with the US crashed in northeastern Thailand but the pilots safely ejected.

The air force said the pilot’s body would be sent for a religious ceremony in his home province of Sa Kaeo.