Officials have released more information on a Royal Canadian Air Force training flight that crashed near Moose Jaw, Sask., earlier this year.

In January, two pilots safely ejected from single-engine Harvard II training aircraft before it crashed near 15 Wing Moose Jaw, home of the Snowbirds aerobatic flying team. The training flight included a flying instructor and a student pilot.

The crash is still under investigation, and defence officials are now looking into whether pilot error, a mechanical failure or training may have been to blame.

The two pilots — a student in the front seat and instructor in the rear seat — had been performing basic aerobatic sequences.

During one of those manoeuvres, the trainee pilot reduced the thrust to idle, according to the Air Force investigator's report. The instructor pilot took control and selected full power, but by that point the aircraft's speed had dropped significantly.

The pilots found themselves flying low and slow when a low oil pressure warning came on, and the engine began to lose power.

The plane was below a safe altitude for returning to CFB Moose Jaw and the pilots reported they could not get it to climb high enough to try gliding back to the runway.

They performed a controlled ejection, with the plane coming down in a farmer's field. One of the pilots suffered minor injuries.

The plane was destroyed, and was found roughly 40 kilometres southwest of the base.

Previous accident

The same type of aircraft was involved in a crash at the same Moose Jaw base on Jan. 24, 2014.

A Canadian Forces spokesperson told CBC at the time that the two pilots ejected due to an issue with the plane's landing gear.

The military Harvard II that crashed in the vicinity of 15 Wing at Moose Jaw, Sask. Two pilots ejected safely. (RCAF)

According to the RCAF website, the CT 156 Harvard II is used to help new pilots transition from basic flight training to high-performance jet training.

After logging about 95 hours in the turboprop plane, the pilots are streamed into fighter, multi-engine or helicopter programs.