Vice-President blames accident on lack of training, pilot error

A Peruvian Air Force SU-22 two-seat fighter jet of the FAP 11th Air Group crashed Friday on a hill overlooking a residential district in the city of Lurin, close to the PanAmerican Highway, killing both crew members. Lurin is located some 20 miles from Lima along the Pacific Ocean coast. No injuries or deaths were reported on the ground, even though pieces of the aircraft struck some homes.

The accident took place at approximately 1500 on Friday during a training exercise in which three aircraft were practicing a formation routine for an FAP ceremony. Eyewitnesses to the crash reported that everything seemed to be fine until one of the aircraft slammed into a hill some meters from a number of homes in Lurin. The witnesses reported that the pilot seemed to manoeuver the aircraft in such a way as to avoid the homes, while attempting to make an emergency landing in a dry river bed. Parts of the aircraft were found in at least seven homes, whose stunned residents were spared any injuries.

"It's amazing it wasn't an even worse disaster because the plane exploded only a few meters from the population," Lurin Councilman Gustavo Espinosa told Radioprogramas radio.

The crew members of the aircraft were identified as FAP Commander Winston San Martin Canales and FAP Captain Mauricio Perez Velarde, according to a FAP press release.

The Peruvian Second Vice President, David Waisman, speculated that the most likely cause of the crash was pilot error and the lack of training of the crew. In a statement to CPN Radio, Waisman stated that he had obtained a preliminary report of the accident which stated that the accident took place because of the crew's inability to log more training hours on the aircraft.

Waisman reminded the public of the difficulties the Peruvian Air Force faces due to a lack of funding. “Pilots must, generally speaking, train a minimum number of hours each month. There are pilots, however, that do not fly a single hour for months at a time. I believe this is the cause of the tragic accident that has taken place," said Waisman.

FMI: www.fap.mil.pe