Yak-130. Photo: X @byz_observer
A Yak-130 training aircraft from the Air Force of the People’s Liberation Army of Laos crashed during a training flight, resulting in the death of two pilots.
+ Click here to watch the video
The accident occurred while the pilots were performing maneuvers in Xieng Houang province, where Wattai Air Base is located, the home base for Yak-130 aircraft. According to reports, the disaster happened during the execution of several maneuvers, including the Split S maneuver. Unfortunately, the two pilots were unable to activate the ejection system in time and lost their lives in the crash.
The Yak-130 aircraft are equipped with K-36L-3.5Ya ejection seats, which have faced reliability issues in recent years due to multiple failure reports. The K-36L seat was originally developed in the 1960s for the Yak-38 and began to be widely installed in aircraft such as the MiG-29, Su-27, and Su-25 from the 1980s onwards.
Laos signed a contract to purchase 10 Yak-130 aircraft, of which six have been delivered so far. The aircraft that crashed was part of this batch. This is the second fatal accident involving this type of aircraft. The first occurred on May 9, 2024, when a Yak-130 from the Bangladesh Air Force caught fire in mid-air during an air show.
+ Watch more videos of air accidents
This incident raises new concerns about the safety of Yak-130 aircraft and the K-36L ejection system, as investigations continue to determine the exact causes of the crash.
Video: Tiktok @xangx1999. Source: mil.in.ua. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
