What happened
On a flight departing from Mergui (Myeik) Airport at 13:06 local time, a Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft was en route to Yangon. The flight was transporting military personnel along with their families. While the aircraft was maintaining an altitude of 18,000 feet under favorable weather conditions, communication and radar contact were lost at 13:35 local time.
Following the disappearance, search and rescue operations were launched. Debris from the aircraft was located late in the afternoon, approximately 218 km from Dawei. During the search, the tail section of the plane was recovered one week after the initial disappearance. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were successfully retrieved and handed over to the Myanmar Army for analysis. It is believed that there were no survivors from the accident.
Findings
The aircraft, which had been delivered to the Myanmar Air Force in March 2016, was a relatively new addition to the fleet. While the specific reason for the loss of contact remains under investigation, the loss of radar contact during the cruise phase is the primary event noted. The recovered flight recorders are being used to determine the exact circumstances of the crash.