The Crash That Led To The Death Of 4 Students | TimeTestedNews

Four soon-to-be-graduated students at the Chaehyun Military Academy in North Pyongan Province’s Taechon County died in a crash that involved a worn-out aircraft during the Eighth Party Congress in January. A source in the military base in North Pyongan Province stated that the students had gone to Taechon Air Base in early January to practice high-altitude drops as part of  their training to become commanders of light infantry divisions.

The students boarded an AN-2 aircraft and all the pre-flight routines were handled by the staff at  Taechon Air Base. The AN-2, however, started spewing smoke as soon as it took off, and spiraled out of control before crashing and then exploding on a nearby mountain. All four students died immediately in the crash, alongside the pilot.

While the incident was originally going to be reported to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un through the Ministry of Defense, officials in the ministry agreed not to report the incident due to the ongoing Eighth Party Congress.

The incident was later reported to both the Central Committee and the North Korean leader. Kim was said to have sent his condolences, saying “losing valuable future leaders of infantry divisions is a major blow to our Party and the our revolutionary armed forces.”

The head of the defense ministry’s education department, who prevented the incident from being reported to Kim Jong Un, was removed from his position. However, North Korean authorities have not conducted an investigation into the incident itself, according to the source.

“That’s because the AN-2 is a weapon that can be used to attack South Korea,” the source said, adding, “If a combat aircraft in the air force had been involved, the air force and  the Taechon Military Academy would have faced trouble.”

The families of the four students who died in the incident were sent messages saying their loved ones had “died during training,” along with a document that stated that the students had “died in battle.” The family of the AN-2 pilot was also sent a document showing he had become a “patriotic martyr,” the source said.