An Indian Air Force MiG-27 fighter jet crashed this morning in southern Rajasthan’s Sirohi.
The pilot ejected safely.
The MiG 27 UPG aircraft, an upgraded variant of the Soviet era fighter, took off from Uttarlai Air Force base in Barmer.
The pilot reported an engine problem and ejected at around 11:45 am in Godana near Sheoganj in Sirohi, about 120 km south of Jodhpur.
#MiG27 aircraft crashes near Jodhpur, #IAF orders court of inquiry | https://t.co/tPV23F6zht pic.twitter.com/smGHzaxrLG
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) March 31, 2019
A Court of Inquiry will probe the cause of the accident. Preliminary reports indicate no loss of property or life on the ground.
The IAF released a statement on the crash. “Today morning at around 1145h, a MiG-27 UPG aircraft, which got airborne from Utarlai Air Force base experienced engine problems leading to a crash at about 120 kms South of Jodhpur. Pilot ejected safely. Preliminary reports indicate no loss of property or life on ground. A Court of Inquiry will investigate cause of the accident,” the statement said.
https://twitter.com/TheHawksOps/status/1112269267020533760
This is the third crash of MiG 27 in the last 6 months.
- On February 12, MiG-27 aircraft crashes near Pokhran range in Rajasthan, the pilot had ejected safely
- on September 4, 2018, MiG-27 Crashes near Devalia village, Jodhpur The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a hospital in an IAF helicopter
This is the ninth Indian Air Force crash in this quarter. Since January, the Indian Air Force has lost one Jaguar fighter-bomber, two MiG-27 UPGs, two Hawk fighters – during a mid air collision of two jets of the Surya Kiran squadron, an upgraded twin-seat Mirage 2000 and a MiG-21 Bison fighter.
In addition to this, IAF fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison was shot down on February 27 in an aerial encounter with the Pakistan Air Force. The Indian Air Force says that the Wing Commander had shot down a PAF F-16 moments before he was downed.
On the same day, at the height of the Indo-Pak standoff after Pulwama terror attack, an Indian Air Force Mi-17 V5 chopper with six crew members crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, possibly in a friendly-fire incident. Reports suggest an IAF surface-to-air-missile unit accidentally opened fire on the chopper. The details of this are, however, still under investigation. Six IAF personnel and one civilian were killed in this incident.
