Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor: Alex Cope, Agency: Real Press
This young Air Force pilot has sadly died after ejecting himself from his fighter plane after he lost control of it shortly after take-off.
The plane, a Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk, had taken off from the municipality of Villa Reynolds, in the central Argentina province of San Luis and crashed in the neighbouring province of Cordoba.
According to national newspaper Infobae, the cause of the crash is still unknown.
Argentine Air Force pilot, Gonzalo Fabian Britos Venturini, 34, had been on a drill, carrying out military shooting practice with his plane over an open field when the plane registered problems.
Officer Venturini, whose flight identification was ‘El Bicho’ (The Bug), was reportedly unable to regain control of the plane and ejected himself around 50 kilometres (31 miles) away from where he had taken off.
According to news site Infobae, the Army gave a press statement reading: “The pilot was found dead near the place where the ejection took place by members of the Rescue and Search of the 5th Air brigade that went to the scene to attend to the emergency.”
The plane, which belonged to the 5th Air Brigade of Villa Reynolds, known as the Falcon’s Cradle, ended up crashing in a rural area.
The authorities of the Argentine Air Force told Infobae they have started an investigation to find out the cause of the accident.
The plane was reportedly one of the last five operative combat planes in Argentina. They are part of a group of just 12, now 11, A-4AR Fightinghawks, although most of them cannot fly due to technical issues, Infobae report.
According to local news outlet Todo Noticias, Venturini, who was unmarried and without children, had a long family tradition in the air force and was experienced, having participated in many different operations.
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