IAF's Trainer Aircraft Crashes In Karnataka's Makali, Pilots Safe. Probe Ordered

Indian Air Force's Kiran trainer aircraft crashed near Karnataka's Makali village on Thursday. A probe into the matter has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash.

Representative Image: IAF's Kiran trainer aircraft crashes in Karnataka

A trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in an open field near the Makali village of Chamarajanagar in Karnataka on Thursday. Two of the pilots are safe as they ejected themselves safely before the crash. The aircraft took off from an air force station in Bengaluru. According to IAF officials, the pilots were on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered in the matter in order to ascertain the cause of the crash, reported news agency ANI.

A Kiran trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near Makali village of Chamarajanagar in Karnataka. Both pilots including a lady pilot are safe. A Court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash: IAF officials

— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2023

(This is BREAKING NEWS... More details to follow)

IAF Grounds Entire MiG-21 Jet Fleet For Checks Till Probe Into Rajasthan Crash Completes

The Indian Air Force has grounded the entire fleet of MiG-21 aircraft till the investigation into the reason behind the crash over Rajasthan earlier this month is ascertained and checks carried out. Three people were killed earlier this month after a MiG-21 Bison aircraft airborne from Suratgarh airbase crashed over Hanumangarh in a village on May 8. 

"The MiG-21 fleet has been grounded till the investigations are carried out and reasons for the crash are ascertained," reported news agency ANI quoting an official from the defence department as saying. 

The MiG-21 aircraft variants started getting inducted into the Indian Air Force over five decades and are on the verge of being phased out.

At present, there are only three MiG squadrons operating in the Air Force and all of them will be phased out by the early part of 2025, the official added. 

The fighter jet that crashed earlier this month was on a routine training sortie when it met with the accident. The pilot had suffered minor injuries after which a probe was launched to look into the exact cause of the crash.