► MAURITANIA: Military Tucano EMB-312F crashes near Aoujeft; 1 dead.

An Embraer Tucano EMB-312F military aircraft belonging to the Mauritanian National General Staff (Air Wing) crashed yesterday (Monday 18 March) morning at 10h50L whilst out on a test flight. The aircraft came down 7km south-east of Aoujeft, a desert town in the Adrar Region of western Mauritania, roughly 500 kilometers (300 miles) north-east of the capital, Nouakchott.

Aoujeft, Mauritania

The Mauritanian Department of National Defence states that the aircraft was out performing a test flight having recently undergone maintenance.

No exact cause of the crash is mentioned.

The pilot, Captain Ahmed Ould Taleb Aheimad, was able to safely eject prior to the crash, sustaining only minor injuries, though the aircraft's mechanic, Sergeant Boubacar M'bodje, did not survive the impact.

Last October, Mauritania acquired their first Embraer A29 Super Tucano for use against Al-Qaeda training camps in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in northern Mali.