CHANDIGARH: During a routine training sortie a Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) today evening crashed due to a technical defect. The pilot ejected safely and was later evacuated by the IAF.
The aircraft had taken off from the Ambala airbase. The remains of the ill-fated aircraft were scattered all over in the forest area on the hilly terrain near Raipur Rani in the Panchkula district of Haryana close to the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border.
An official statement by the IAF read, " A Jaguar aircraft of the IAF crashed at Ambala during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft away from any habitation on the ground before ejecting safely. An inquiry has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident.’’
An IAF spokesperson said that the pilot was taken to a hospital for a medical check-up. The locals gathered at the spot and assisted the pilot in freeing himself from his parachute harness.
The squadrons of Jaguar and the newly inducted Rafale aircraft, besides other ancillary units, are stationed at the Ambala airbase, which is the oldest airbase of the IAF.
Sources said that in the past, there have been incidents involving the Jaguar as this fleet of aircraft has suffered over 50 major and minor incidents in its 45-year service with the IAF, some of which have been fatal.
The IAF operates around 120 twin-engine Jaguars which are in six squadrons—Nos 5, 6, 14, 16, 27 and 224- based at Ambala, Jamnagar and Gorakhpur thus forming a crucial element of its strike capability and tactical reconnaissance.