A MiG-29 aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan’s Barmer district on Monday night due to a ‘critical’ technical malfunction. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
“While on a routine night training mission in the Barmer sector, an IAF MiG-29 experienced a critical technical snag, necessitating the pilot’s ejection,” the IAF stated in a post on X.
The Air Force confirmed that the pilot is safe and no loss of life or property has been reported. “A Court of Inquiry has been ordered,” the IAF added.
The crash occurred in a remote area, away from populated regions, according to Superintendent of Police Narendra Meena, as quoted by PTI. Meena also mentioned that fire trucks could not reach the crash site due to challenging terrain.
Previous incidents:
- On August 31, a helicopter being towed to Gauchar for repairs by an MI-17 chopper of the IAF crashed in the hills near Kedarnath. There were no casualties as the helicopter was unoccupied.
- On August 21, an object fell from an IAF fighter aircraft in the Pokhran area of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer. The incident took place in a remote location with no damage to life or property. Residents heard a loud bang about a kilometer away from the village and found debris scattered around.
- On June 4, a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter jet carrying two pilots crashed in Maharashtra’s Nashik. Both pilots ejected safely.
- On March 12, a Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) crashed near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan during an operational training sortie.
- In February, a Hawk trainer aircraft crashed in the Kalaikunda area of West Bengal during a training sortie.
- In May 2023, a MiG-21 fighter jet crashed during a routine training sortie, resulting in the loss of three lives.
