Ethiopian pilot defects to Eritrea in Mi helicopter along with his co-pilot and a technician

An Ethiopian air force pilot has defected to Eritrea, flying a Mi 24 helicopter across the border with his co-pilot and a technician, Ethiopian media said.

Due to the increasing number of defection, the Ethiopian Air Force enforced a restriction that only allow flying within a 30 minute flight radius during training periods. The ban, however, couldn’t stop disgruntled members of the force to abandon the regime and seek protection in neighboring countries like Eritrea, flying with their multi-million dollar military machines.According to Ethiopian media, the two missing pilots are named as Captain Samuel Ghidey and Lieutenant Yililign Mekonen.

Both Eritrea and Ethiopia had fought a brief war in 1998-2000 over a border conflict.