Jaipur: A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday crashed in Rajasthan's Bikaner district. As per the initial reports, the pilot of the MiG-21 ejected safely.  The aircraft was on a routine mission and crashed after getting airborne from the Nal airbase near Bikaner.

Defence spokesperson said that a court of inquiry would investigate the cause of the accident. Initial inputs indicate the likely cause as the bird hit after take off.

Bikaner SP Pradeep Mohan Sharma said the MIG aircraft crashed in Shobhasar ki Dhani, 12 km from Bikaner city. He said police teams have rushed the spot to cordon off the area. No loss of life has been reported.

READ: Know all about IAF’s MiG-21

Last week, an IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday, killing both its pilots and four others onboard besides a local resident. In February pilot Samir Abrol and his co-pilot Siddharth Negi died when their Mirage 2000 trainer fighter aircraft crashed near the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airport in Bengaluru. The aircraft crashed in an open area on the edge of the airfield. After the accident, both pilots managed to eject from the plane. While Negi died on the spot, Abrol was shifted to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.

The MiG-21 Bison is the same plane that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was flying when he was downed by a Pakistan Air Force F-16. The MiG-21 fighter jet which for over four decades have been part of Indian Air Force’s front-line attack repertoire is known to be one of most combat friendly fighter jets that have turned the tide of many aerial combats in their countries favour during wars fought to grapple supremacy in the airspace. The MiG-21 famously known as the Bison in the IAF.