Himachal Pradesh: IAF's MiG-21 jet crashes in Kangra, pilot killed

Shimla, July 18: An Indian Air Force's MiG-21 fighter jet has crashed in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry into the crash.

The crash took place in Mehra Palli village under the Jawali police station at around 1.30 pm. The plane had taken off from Pathankot air base in Punjab and was on a routine training flight.

The fighter jet crashed in Mehra Palli village under the Jawali police station, Kangra Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Patial said. The SP told PTI that he and other officials were on their way to the spot.

The aircraft had taken off from the Pathankot air base in Punjab, officials said.

The MiG-21 took off from Punjab's Pathankot & later lost contact with its system. Police present on the spot. Fire has been doused but debris are scattered everywhere. The only pilot who was present in the plane is missing. No one else was injured: Kangra SP Santosh Patial pic.twitter.com/aWQhEYkrZD

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2018

Wednesday's accident comes less than two months after another MiG 21 crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on May 27. The crash too killed the pilot.

In June this year, a pilot died after an Indian Air Force (IAF) Jaguar jet crashed in Kucth's Mundra region.

In April, an unmanned Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) of the Indian Navy crashed in Gujarat. In the same month, four people suffered minor injuries after an Indian Air Force's MI-17 helicopter caught fire following a collision with an iron girder while landing at the helipad near Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand.