Thai authorities seek causes of F-16 jet crash

LOP BURI, February 21 (TNA) - Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) rescue officials and US experts on Saturday rushed to the area where an F-16 A-1 fighter jet crashed in a village of the central province of Lop Buri to find out the cause of the crash. The incident occurred Friday when the ill-fated Air Force aircraft crashed during a training exercise at a cassava plantation in Lop Buri’s Khok Samrong district, killing the pilot, identified as Flight Lieutenant Noppanont Niwasanont, said a RTAF spokesman. The spokesman said RTAF rescue officials, in cooperation with US aviation experts, inspected the scene of the incident early Saturday in an attempt to determine the cause of the accident. He said the body of the pilot is now at a hospital in Lop Buri and will be flown to Bangkok on Sunday for religious rites at a Buddhist temple in Bang Khen district. (TNA)