MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The body of the pilot of a Russian Su-27 fighter that crashed on Thursday in the country's far eastern region had been found, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.

    The fighter disappeared in the Khabarovsk region during a scheduled mission. It went off the radar screens when it was about30 km from the air base it had just left.

    The body of the pilot, Vladimir Sobolev, and the plane wreckage were found 20 km north of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Saturday morning, local media reported.

    The flight data recorder of the plane has also been found and sent for further analysis.

    Russia has suspended all Su-27 flights until the cause of the crash is determined.

    The Su-27 is an air-superiority long-range, Mach-2 class interceptor-fighter that has been in service since 1984.