The Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet crashed on Tuesday in the south of the country after having collided with a flock of birds, the Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2018) The Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet crashed on Tuesday in the south of the country after having collided with a flock of birds, the Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement.
"At 9:41 a.m. on Tuesday [07:41 GMT], the Jas 39 Gripen fighter jet collided with a flock of big birds near the F17 Blekinge Air Force Wing," the statement read.
The pilot had assumed that it would be impossible for him to land the jet, so he decided to eject himself from the aircraft, the statement added.
The military noted that the pilot was unharmed and had been taken to hospital to be examined. The jet crashed in woods.
Swedish military equipment manufacturer Saab Group has not yet commented on the accident.
Meanwhile, Swedish media reported, citing the countrys Transport Agency, that around 400 collisions between aircraft and birds occurred in Sweden annually.
Ingrid Cherfils, the director of the agencys Strategic Development and Management Department, told the local TT News Agency it was typical for planes and birds come in close contact with one other, but the fact that the Jas 39 Gripen jet had been so badly damaged was unusual. According to the news agency, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist expressed his sympathy to the pilot but refrained from commenting on the condition of the crashed jet.
Blekinge Wing representatives told reporters on Tuesday that pilots reported up to 10 birds collisions annually.
