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.
