MiG-21 Fighter Jet Of Indian Air Force Crashes In Madhya Pradesh, Pilot Dies

A MiG-21 fighter jet of Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday morning. As per the early inputs, captain A Gupta died in the incident. 

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A MiG-21 fighter jet of Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday morning. As per the early inputs, captain A Gupta died in the incident.  According to the Indian Air Force, the aircraft crashed at an airbase in central India. The tragic accident happened when the fighter jet was taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India.

In a Twitter post, the Indian Air Force confirmed the incident stating that IAF lost  Group Captain A Gupta in the tragic accident. "IAF expresses deep condolences and stands firmly with the family members," Indian Air Force tweeted. 

Meanwhile, a court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate what caused the accident.  This is second such incident in 2021. Earlier this year in January, IAF's MiG-21 aircraft crashed in the Suratgarh area of Rajasthan. However, the pilot ejected himself safely during the accident and saved his life. 

Prior to that, Indian Navy's MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed into the sea after which one pilot had gone missing while the other one was rescued. 

The Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik while speaking in the Parliament in 2019 had noted that the Indian Air Force has lost a total of 27 aircrafts including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016.