Dominican military says pilot error behind 2 deaths in air show crash

Santo Domingo.- The Armed Forces Ministry on Monday said the "immediate observations" into the crash of the Air Force Pillan aircraft that killed two pilots point toward "human error."

In a statement however, the military cautions that its Accident Investigation Board is the agency that will determine the crash’s real cause.

"These are unfortunate, painful accidents that take place, although in this case there was a rapid response by Navy, firefighters and Air Force rescue personnel, who immediately arrived to rescue of the aircraft’s crew," tje statement quoted by diariolibre.com says.

Air Force pilots 1st Lt Eduardo Rafael Sanchez and 2nd Lt Carlos Manuel Guerrero were pulled from the water together with their ejection seats, but the military notes that they appear to have died on impact of the Pillan T-35 trainer.