On 10 June 2015, a single-seater Saab JAS 39 Gripen from the Hungarian Air Force performed a belly landing at Kecskemét Air Base, Hungary.
The pilot, Major Sándor Kádár ejected successfully, but suffered spinal injuries and later awarded with For Homeland Medal by the Defence Minister for rescuing the plane.
After attempting to re-cycle the undercarriage, Maj. Kadar opted for a belly landing.
However, after touching the runway, he lost control of the aircraft and was forced to eject.
Related link: Videos of Saab JAS 39 Gripen Crash
A video, shot at the Hungarian airbase shows the mishap unfold: as you can see the ejection seat does not separate from the pilot causing him to fall at higher than the expected speed with a subsequent injury.
The crash follows another incident that occurred to a Hungarian Air Force Gripen D on May 19 when a two-seater jet crashed on landing at Čáslav air base in the Czech Republic during exercise Lion Effort. Both pilots successfully ejected from the aircraft.
Although investigation in the crashes is still in progress, in spite of some media reports, Hungary’s fleet of Gripens has not been grounded.
According to the Hungarian MoD, the JAS-39C involved in the most recent incident will likely be repaired and returned to active service.
