Mirage fighter crashes in MP, pilots safe

A Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday crashed near Bhind in Madhya Pradesh soon after taking off from an air base in Gwalior. Both the pilots had managed to eject safely from the jet, said an IAF official.

The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it developed a snag in the engine. The pilots tried to relight the aircraft unsuccessfully but it crashed near Bhind district, around 45 km from the air base. The pilots, Wing Commander Ram Kumar and Air Marshal Anil Chopra, safely ejected from the jet.

Incidentally, the crashed aircraft belong to 1 squadron of IAF, of which Ram Kumar is the Commanding Officer (CO).

The other pilot, Air Marshal Anil Chopra, who is also the Air Commodore, was on an official visit to the base.

The Indian Air Force's Chetak helicopter was pressed into service to rescue the pilots immediately after the crash. According to Air Force officials, both the pilots were sent to military hospital in Gwalior for treatment.

This is fifth case of Mirage crash in 28 years. Friday's crash was the ninth in a series of crashes involving various aircraft, including MiG 21 fighters, in the last ten months.

The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry (CoI) to ascertain the reasons behind the crash.

The IAF has also recently signed two deals worth over USD 3.2 billion for upgrading the capabilities of the Mirage 2000 with French companies Dassault, Thales and MBDA.

These aircraft started getting inducted into the IAF in the mid-80s and have had a very good flight safety record.