Air Force's MiG-27 Fighter Jet Crashes In Rajasthan, Pilot Ejects Safely

An Indian Air Force MiG-27 fighter jet crashed this morning in southern Rajasthan's Sirohi. The pilot ejected safely.

The MiG 27 UPG aircraft, an upgraded variant of the Soviet era fighter, took off from Uttarlai Air Force base in Barmer. The pilot reported an engine problem and ejected at around 11:45 am in Godana near Sheoganj in Sirohi, about 120 km south of Jodhpur.

A Court of Inquiry will probe the cause of the accident. Preliminary reports indicate no loss of property or life on ground.

This is the ninth Indian Air Force crash in this quarter.  

Since January, the Indian Air Force has lost one Jaguar fighter-bomber, two MiG-27 UPGs, two Hawk fighters - during a mid air collision of two jets of the Surya Kiran squadron, an upgraded twin-seat Mirage 2000 and a MiG-21 Bison fighter.

In addition to this, IAF fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's MiG-21 Bison was shot down on February 27 in an aerial encounter with the Pakistan Air Force. The Indian Air Force says that the Wing Commander had shot down a PAF F-16 moments before he was downed. 

On the same day, at the height of the Indo-Pak standoff after Pulwama terror attack, an Indian Air Force Mi-17 V5 chopper with six crew members crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, possibly in a friendly-fire incident.  Reports suggest an IAF surface-to-air-missile unit accidentally opened fire on the chopper. The details of this are, however, still under investigation. Six IAF personnel and one civilian were killed in this incident.