UP: IAF's Jaguar jet crashes; pilot manages to eject safely
On Monday, a Jaguar fighter plane belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed at Kushingar, around 322km from the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. Reportedly, the aircraft had embarked on a routine mission from Gorakhpur during which the crash happened. The pilot, however, managed to eject himself from the aircraft and is safe. Here are the details.
What we know about the crash
According to reports, the Jaguar fighter jet crashed immediately after taking off from Gorakhpur. Following take-off, the plane's altitude dipped and it crashed into a nearby farm and burst into flames. IAF officials quickly reached the spot and created a perimeter to keep villagers safely away from the site of the crash. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the crash.
In June last year, another Jaguar jet had crashed
Notably, this is the second Jaguar jet to have crashed in under a year. In June last year, a Jaguar jet crashed in Gujarat's Kutch region, killing its pilot, Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan. Days later, another Jaguar jet on a routine mission from Jamnagar developed a 'technical snag' before landing and suffered minor damage. The pilot was able to eject safely.
Crashes have plagued the IAF over the last year
Jaguar jets apart, the IAF has also been plagued with other crashes. In March last year, an Advanced Hawk Jet trainer aircraft crashed on the Jharkhand-Odisha border, and a couple of months later a Cheetah helicopter crashed in Jammu & Kashmir. In June, a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter crashed in Nashik in Maharashtra, and in September, a MiG-27 crashed near Jodhpur.
