Pilot's failure behind Czech L-159 fatal crash in November

Prague, Feb 5 (CTK) - The pilot's failure was behind the fatal crash of a Czech military L-159 plane in central Bohemia last November, Czech Television (CT) reported Tuesday, citing the investigators' report.

The pilot performed manoeuvres at too a low altitude, the report says.

The 34-year-old pilot died in the accident near Kolin, about 50 km east of Prague.

The plane exploded after crashing into the ground. The black box shows that all systems functioned until the crash.

"The plane nosedived. Unfortunately, the pilot failed to avert the accident," Defence Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek told CT.

The crash occurred during a routine training flight late in the afternoon on November 22, 2012.

The pilot from the 21st tactic air force base in Caslav, central Bohemia, was an experienced pilot who joined the military in 2000. He came to the Caslav air base in 2007. He had covered 1050 flight hours, including 560 hours aboard L-159s, a one-seat subsonic fighter made in the Czech Republic and used by the Czech air force since 2003.