Russian Su-34 fighter jet crashes during training, pilots eject

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that a Su-34 fighter jet crashed during a training flight.

The two pilots who ejected during the plane crash and were later found and evacuated to the home airfield are safe, it said in a statement.

"The plane crashed far from populated areas. There is no destruction on the ground. The training flight was conducted without ammunition. The cause of the accident could be a technical malfunction," the statement said.

The Su-34 fighter jet is a two-seat all-weather front-line aircraft designed for missile and bomb attacks on ground targets as well as hitting enemy air targets.