A Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in the compound of a student hostel in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer during a training sortie. The pilot has ejected safely and no injuries have been reported on the ground.
This is the first crash of the indigenous jet since its first test flight, 23 years ago, in 2001. The Tejas, which is a light combat aircraft, was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2016.
The plane crashed on the ground of the student's hostel, which is located near the Lakshmi Chand Sanwal Colony in Jaisalmer., around 2 pm. The pilot ejected safely, the Air Force said, adding that a probe has been ordered into the incident.
"One Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force met with an accident at Jaisalmer, today during an operational training sortie. The pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause of the accident," the Indian Air Force said on X.
The aircraft caught fire after the crash, which has now been doused. It is not clear whether the plane was part of the war games taking place in Rajasthan.
A witness said, "I was standing nearby. The pilot of the plane ejected and I saw a parachute open. The aircraft crashed in a ground and there was a loud explosion."
The first IAF Squadron to induct the Tejas was the No. 45 Squadron, also known as the 'Flying Daggers', in 2016. The No. 18 Squadron became the second IAF unit to operate the Tejas in 2020.
The Indian Air Force currently operates 40 Tejas MK-1 aircraft and it has 83 Tejas MK-1A fighters on order in a deal worth over Rs 46,000 crore. In November last year, the Defence Acquisition Council gave an initial approval to procure an additional 97 Tejas planes for the force.
The Indian Navy also operates a twin-seater variant of the aircraft.
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