AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A Syrian fighter pilot on a training mission flew his MiG-21 warplane to Jordan today and asked for political asylum, the first defection of an air force pilot with his plane during the 15-month uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The pilot, identified as Col. Hassan Hammadeh, removed his air force tag and kneeled on the tarmac in prayer after landing his plane at King Hussein Air Base in Mafraq, Jordan, 45 miles north of Amman, a Jordanian security official said. The official insisted on anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

The defection was a triumph for the rebels who are fighting to overthrow Assad. The air force is considered fiercely loyal to the government, and the defection suggests some of Syria’s most ironclad allegiances are fraying. A spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, Ahmad Kassem, said the group had encouraged the pilot to defect and monitored his activity until the jet landed safely in Jordan. He said the pilot was based in southern Syria.

Syria’s state-run TV reported earlier in the day that authorities had lost contact with a MiG-21.

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