A file photo of pilot Tran Quang Khai |
Fishermen participating in the rescue at 6 p.m. found the body and parachute floating 15-18 nautical miles from the site where the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 is believed to have crashed.
A Coast Guard vessel was sent to the site and confirmed that the body was that of Sen. Lt. Maj. Tran Quang Khai.
The jet went off radar during a training mission on June 14. Maj. Nguyen Huu Cuong, the other pilot, was rescued at sea the following day.
Cuong said he and Khai had managed to eject after they heard an "explosion" in the cockpit.
The search for Khai became deadly on June 17 when another airplane crashed in bad weather. The plight of the nine crew members on board the Coast Guard's Casa 212 aircraft remains unknown.
More than 40 Coast Guard and Navy vessels and 100 fishing boats are searching for the crew. They found some debris and personal items early June 17.
Since the plane went down in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam's northern coastline and China's Hainan Island, Vietnam has requested China's assistance.
China June 17 sent ships to help find the missing plane, Vietnam's defense ministry said.
