MAF F-7 aircraft crashes in Pale, Sagaing

Key events

• Incident Location: Sa Par Sayt စပါးစေ့ village [21.93375015, 94.76542664], Pale Township, Sagaing Region.
• Date/Time of Incident: 10 June 2025
• Alleged Perpetrator(s) and/or Involvement: Myanmar Military, Myanmar Air Force (MAF), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Yinmabin PDF
• Myanmar Witness confirmed the aircraft as a Chinese-manufactured Chengdu F-7 fighter jet of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF).
• Two separate areas were geolocated within Sa Par Sayt village: the aircraft crash site and a monastery.
• Myanmar Witness analysed aircraft activity from a Telegram channel on 10 June 2025 and examined Google Earth Pro imagery of Magway Airbase, where F-7 aircraft were observed on 6 March 2025.
• Myanmar Witness checked the state-owned media MRTV Telegram channel regarding the SAC denial, and also the claim from resistance forces that they shot down the aircraft. However, Myanmar Witness can not fully verify that the aircraft malfunctioned due to a lack of sufficient evidence and media support. Myanmar Witness strongly believes that the aircraft crashed at Sa Par Sayt village, Pale township, Sagaing Region on 10 June 2025.

Background and context

On 10 June 2025, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) allegedly shot down a jet fighter belonging to MAF. At approximately 12:15 local time, an airstrike was reportedly attempted over the Sa Par Sayt စပါးစေ့ village, where resistance forces were engaged in fighting to capture the Kant Daung police station in Pale Township, Sagaing Region. 

A few minutes later, on the same day, the Yinmabin public administration posted a video of the crashed aircraft, claiming it had shot it down. However, the State Administration Council (SAC) reported that the fighter jet crashed due to engine failure. Immediately after SAC reported that the fighter jet had crashed, the PLA released photos of the crashed fighter jet.

The Pale township has been a site of conflict following the military coup; with local resistance forces attacking Myanmar military infrastructure and government buildings. On 10 June 2025, Mandalay Free Press reported that fighting had been ongoing for three days as a local resistance group attempted to seize control of the police station in Kant Daunt village, Pale Township. This clash likely prompted the  MAF to conduct airstrikes in the area, during which a fighter jet crashed.

On 20 May 2025, Myanmar Now reported that the Kachin Liberation Army (KLA) shot down two military helicopters carrying reinforcements to Bhamo with suicide drones, and the SAC also reported that the helicopters crashed due to mechanical failure.

Investigation

Myanmar Witness analysed the multiple sources that appeared online on 10 June 2025, including the Myanmar military’s denial of news about the aircraft being shot down by the resistance forces. Myanmar Witness also investigated the aircraft activities reported via the Telegram air route channel and geolocated the incident area at Sa Par Sayt village [21.933990, 94.765994] (figure 1), and most importantly, Myanmar Witness has analysed the components of the aircraft visible in several pieces of user-generated content (UGC) and has determined these debris to be originally part of a Chinese-manufactured Chengdu F-7 fighter jet of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF). 

Geolocation

Myanmar Witness geolocated UGC that appeared online, reported by local media and private accounts. Myanmar Witness geolocated the UGC posted by PLA and Khit Thit media at Sa Par Sayt စပါးစေ့ village [21.93375015, 94.76542664] (figure 2). Myanmar Witness also geolocated that there were additional fires that occurred within the same village inside a monastery at [21.934478, 94.766930] (figure 3). Some private accounts (source redacted due to privacy concerns) also claimed that the aircraft was coming toward Zee Hpyu Kone village (ဇီးဖြူကုန်း) [21.96026993, 94.71855164], bombed the village, and then crashed at Sa Par Sayt on its return to base. However, Myanmar Witness has not been able to fully verify these claims due to insufficient UGC and media reporting.

Aircraft identification

Myanmar Witness has analysed the components of the aircraft visible in several pieces of UGC. Such components—reviewed by Myanmar Witness—include the aircraft’s left horizontal stabiliser (figure 4), the rudder (figure 5), part of its landing gear (figure 6) and the canopy (figure 7). Based on this examination and following a comparative visual analysis, Myanmar Witness has determined these debris to be originally part of a Chinese-manufactured Chengdu F-7 fighter jet of the MAF, also confirmed by the unique livery pattern. This aircraft was also carrying equipment normally arming the F-7 in MAF service, such as an auxiliary external fuel tank, 30mm rounds for its internal cannon, and at least one pod for unguided rockets (figures 8 and 9). Additionally, given the peculiar pattern of rivets on the retrieved damaged canopy, Myanmar Witness was able to ascertain that this aircraft is of the single-seater variant (the MAF also operates the double-seater variant of the same model). Myanmar Witness is unable to confirm if the aircraft was damaged in flight or crashed as a result of an engineering malfunction. However, there have been previous cases of ageing MAF models, and among these the F-7, crashing due to malfunctions. 

SAC denial analysis

SAC’s owned media, MRTV, claimed that the aircraft engine malfunctioned during training, and this caused damage on 10 June 2025 (figure 10). Reported via their telegram channel, they claimed the aircraft malfunctioned and crashed at Sa Par Sayt village, Pale township, Sagaing Region, and alleged that the responsible officers were taking security control of the surrounding area and villages. However, from most of the UGC uploaded via PLA and other media sources, Myanmar Witness has confirmed the activities of resistance forces near the incident location, and there is no sign of Myanmar military activities there; nevertheless, state-owned media claimed the location, and the geolocated location at Sa Par Sayt village is consistent. 

Flight activities

Additionally, Myanmar Witness also checked the flight activities reported via the Enemy Air Route channel, which are consistent with the timeframe that the aircraft crashed (figure 11). However, Myanmar Witness cannot fully verify that the reported flight activities are consistent with the actual crashed aircraft. 

Myanmar Witness also examined Google Earth imagery of the Magway Airbase and spotted F-7 aircraft stationed on the tarmac on imagery dated 2 March 2025 – three months before the reported crash, which is also consistent with Myanmar Witness’s aircraft identification (figure 13).

Ongoing monitoring

Myanmar Witness continues to investigate the incident and remains committed to monitoring developments in real time. In addition, Myanmar Witness will proceed with publishing relevant updates and reports on social media platforms regarding the incident.

As part of ongoing efforts, Myanmar Witness is systematically documenting human rights abuses, violations of international law, and potential war crimes committed in Myanmar. This is essential for ensuring future accountability and supporting justice efforts for affected communities.