A Finnish Air Force Hawk training fighter jet crashed in Central Finland on Monday afternoon, but both pilots managed to escape in their ejection seats before the crash.
The training jet crashed in the southern half of Keuruu, approximately 300 km north of the Finnish capital Helsinki, the Air Force said on Twitter.
The plane's pilots were performing a flight training drill, according to Air Force Brigadier General Timo Herranen.
In a tweet at 3:21pm, the Air Force announced that both pilots had been found and sent for a health check.
The region's rescue services received a report about an air traffic accident in Keuruu just after 2pm, and nine emergency units were called to the scene.
Ejected at 500m
At a press briefing early on Monday evening, the Air Force Academy's commandant, Colonel Vesa Mäntylä, said the accident occurred during the third and final round of a five-plane air combat exercise.
The aircraft that crashed was in a combat training drill with another jet, while the other three planes were in separate training areas.
The 25-year-old student pilot and a 30-year-old flight instructor in the plane noticed an abnormal vibration, and issued an emergency message on the radio, as the aircraft was flying at an altitude of around 1.5 to 2.0 kilometres, he explained.
Mäntylä said the pilots ejected at a height of less than 500 metres from the ground. According to the colonel, that was a safe height, as the ejection seats can even be safely deployed at ground level.
Mäntylä said rescue services arrived very quickly.
An area around the crash site has been cordoned off from the public, according to Herranen. The jet is located in a forested swamp area, with the nearest village about a half a kilometre away.
Monday's crash marked the 12th Hawk accident that has occurred since the Air Force began using the planes in 1980.
Since 2020, the Air Force has been flying 32 rebuilt British-made Hawks of the Mk 51, Mk 51A and Mk 66 models. They are scheduled to remain in use until the late 2030s.
Finland\s last Hawk accident occurred in November 2013, when two of the planes collided during a combat exercise. One pilot survived after using the ejection seat but the pilot of the second jet did not survive the accident.
Edited at 18:16 to add details from Air Force Academy press briefing.
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