GWERU
–
An
Air
Force
of
Zimbabwe
pilot
died
on
Thursday
after
a
trainer
aircraft
he
was
flying
went
down
near
Gweru.
Zimbabwe
Defence
Forces
(ZDF)
commander
General
Phillip
Valerio
Sibanda
said
he
had
received
the
news
of
Air
Lieutenant
Nesbert
Tambudza’s
death
“with
a
heavy
heart.”
A
ZDF
statement
described
Tambudza,
whose
age
was
not
disclosed,
as
a
“young
pilot
who
had
demonstrated
immense
potential.”
His
aircraft,
a
Karakorum-8
went
down
near
Guinea
Fowl,
about
20km
southeast
of
Gweru.
He
was
flying
solo.
The
aircraft
was
“extensively
damaged”
on
impact
with
the
ground,
the
ZDF
said.
The
cause
of
the
accident
is
under
investigation.
The
ZDF
said
Tambudza
had
been
selected
to
undergo
a
jet
flying
conversion
course
at
Number
2
Squadron
based
at
the
Josiah
Tungamirai
Air
Force
base
in
Gweru.
“He
was
on
the
final
phases
of
training
on
the
K-8
jet,”
the
ZDF
said.
The
K-8
is
a
two-seat
intermediate
jet
trainer
and
light
attack
aircraft
designed
by
China
Nanchang
Aircraft
Manufacturing
Corporation
and
Pakistan
Aeronautical
Complex.
It
made
its
first
flight
in
1990.
Zimbabwe
had
10
K-8
aircraft
as
of
2023.