A Jaguar aircraft, one of the key fighter jets of the Indian Air Force crashed in near Pokhran in Rajasthan minutes after taking off from Jaisalmer on Monday after both pilots ejected safely. This is the second crash of a Jaguar in the last one month.
The aircraft was on a routine training mission when it crashed at 1.45 pm in an area not far away from the India-Pakistan border.
A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to look into the circumstances that led to the crash.
This is the second Jaguar crash within a month. Earlier on September 13, a Jaguar trainer aircraft caught fire during a take-off in Ambala. Then too, the pilot made a quick exit and a COI was ordered. The plane was scheduled to take part in a routine night flying mission.
On June 16, 2015, a Jaguar fighter aircraft crashed near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, and both the pilots had managed to eject safely. The plane had taken off at 7:25 a.m. from the Bamrauli air strip in Allahabad and was on a routine training sortie.
The same year, another Jaguar aircraft had crashed near the Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Incidentally, this aircraft too had taken-off from same Ambala Air Base.
Jaguars are a deep penetration strike aircraft and their up gradation process is on. Jaguar was among aircraft the Indian Force flew in the "Red Flag" aerial combat exercises held earlier this year in US.
The aircraft was on a routine training mission when it crashed at 1.45 pm in an area not far away from the India-Pakistan border.
A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to look into the circumstances that led to the crash.
This is the second Jaguar crash within a month. Earlier on September 13, a Jaguar trainer aircraft caught fire during a take-off in Ambala. Then too, the pilot made a quick exit and a COI was ordered. The plane was scheduled to take part in a routine night flying mission.
On June 16, 2015, a Jaguar fighter aircraft crashed near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, and both the pilots had managed to eject safely. The plane had taken off at 7:25 a.m. from the Bamrauli air strip in Allahabad and was on a routine training sortie.
The same year, another Jaguar aircraft had crashed near the Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Incidentally, this aircraft too had taken-off from same Ambala Air Base.
Jaguars are a deep penetration strike aircraft and their up gradation process is on. Jaguar was among aircraft the Indian Force flew in the "Red Flag" aerial combat exercises held earlier this year in US.