GUWAHATI: A Su-30 fighter jet on a routine training mission crashed in Tezpur, Assam on Thursday evening.
Defence sources said both pilots ejected safely.
The aircraft, which took off from the IAF’s Tezpur base, caught fire immediately after the crash at Milanpur area of Tezpur. The mishap occurred at around 8 pm shortly after take-off.
“Today evening, a Su-30 aircraft on a routine training mission from Tezpur crashed in the local flying area. Both pilots ejected safely from the aircraft and have been rescued. A Court of Inquiry will ascertain the cause of the accident,” Guwahati-based defence spokesman Lt Col P Khongsai told this newspaper.
The locals claimed both pilots were injured following ejection. They rescued the duo and rushed them to a hospital in an ambulance.
The incident comes close on the heels of an IAF’s transport aircraft crash in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh in June. Thirteen IAF personnel, including some officers, were killed in the crash.