Air Force Pilot Killed In MiG-21 Bison Accident In Punjab

An Air Force pilot was killed in an MiG-21 aircraft accident in Punjab late on Thursday. The accident involving the Bison aircraft took place near Moga district late on Thursday night, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said in a tweet.

"There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family," the IAF tweeted.

A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident, it said.

There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family.

- Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 21, 2021

The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when the accident happened, news agency ANI reported quoting Air Force officials.

This is the third accident involving the MiG-21 this year. In March, a Air Force Group Captain died when the aircraft was taking off for a combat training mission.

Earlier this year, in January, the IAF had reported a MiG-21 aircraft crash during near Suratgarh in Rajasthan. The aircraft had developed a major technical malfunction during a training sortie in the western sector, the IAF had said.

The single engine, single seater multirole fighter/ground attack aircraft of Russian origin forms the back-bone of the IAF. It has a max speed of 2,230 km/hr (Mach 2.1) and carries one 23 mm twin barrel cannon with four R-60 close combat missiles.