Quetta plane crash: Major Husnain Shehzad and Captain Abdul Samad martyred as Army Mushshak trainer goes down

Two Pakistan Army officers were martyred when a Mushshak training aircraft of Army Aviation crashed near Nawan Killi in Quetta at midday on Monday 12 October 2026, the military's media wing ISPR said. ISPR blamed a technical fault. The crash was reported by Dawn and ARY News, both quoting the ISPR statement.

Who was on board

The aircraft was on a training sortie with an instructor and a trainee:

• Major Husnain Shehzad Humayun, the instructor pilot
• Captain Abdul Samad, the student pilot

Both were killed. ISPR's statement as reported did not mention anyone hurt on the ground or damage to property in Nawan Killi.

What we know about the cause

ISPR said the crash was caused by a technical fault. The statement as reported did not say whether a board of inquiry has been formed, though the armed forces normally convene one after a fatal crash. We will add its findings if they are made public.

The Mushshak trainer

The Mushshak is a two-seat, single-engine propeller trainer built at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, based on the Swedish Saab MFI-17 Safari. It is the basic trainer used by Army Aviation and the Pakistan Air Force for a pilot's first flying hours, and an instructor usually sits beside the student, as in Monday's flight.

Training crashes of this kind are rare but not new. ARY News recalled a 2022 crash near Peshawar in which two Pakistan Air Force pilots were killed in a trainer during a routine mission; the PAF formed a board of inquiry then.

Flights in and out of Quetta

The crash was a military training flight and there was no report of any effect on civilian flights at Quetta International Airport. Travellers booked to Quetta should still check with their airline on the day. New direct routes to the city start this month: Airblue's Islamabad and Lahore flights from 26 October and AirSial's daily Islamabad flight from 25 October.

This story is based on ISPR's statement as published by Dawn and ARY News. It will be updated with funeral details and any inquiry findings.