JAIPUR: An Air Force’s MiG-27 fighter jet has crashed on a field near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The pilot ejected safely, defence spokesperson Colonel Sombit Ghosh said. The plane was on a routine mission.
On seeing the dry field at Deoria lit up by burning jet fuel, villagers informed the local authorities, which sent some fire trucks to control the situation. Air Force officials have also arrived at the crash site. The MiG-27 had taken off from the IAF’s Jodhpur airbase.
“A MiG-27 aircraft airborne from Jodhpur crashed during a routine mission today morning. Pilot ejected safely. A court of inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident,” Colonel Ghosh said.
The MiG-27 is a Soviet era ground-attack aircraft that India bought in the early 1980s. It flew strike missions in the Kargil War in 1999, hitting hard targets in the mountains.