HANOI, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese pilot was killed in a fighter jet crash in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Su-22 aircraft crashed while landing Tuesday noon in Yen Bai Province, the news agency said.

Thirty-one-year-old captain Tran Ngoc Duy was ordered to parachute but he tried to save the aircraft. However, the plane crashed, killing the pilot, it said.

The Ministry of Defence has directed Air Defense-Air Force and relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the accident, according to the news report.