TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's army on Friday confirmed the death of the pilot of a MiG-29 fighter jet that crashed in the northwest of the country two days earlier, official IRNA news agency reported.

After two days of search for the wreckage of the plane and the pilot on the heights of the Sabalan mountains where the Mig-29 crashed, the Iranian army confirms the death of the pilot Colonel Mohammad Reza Rahmani in the incident, public relations of the Iranian army said in a statement.

Rahmani was one of the most skillful and experienced pilots of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, who had an outstanding record of flight missions, the statement said.

The MiG-29 fighter jet belonging to the Iranian army crashed in the mountainous area of Iran's northwestern Ardabil province on Wednesday morning, however, the snowy weather and the rough mountainous area slowed down the search for the pilot.

The fighter jet went down during a functional check flight following an overhaul.