MiG-21 crashes near Gwalior, both pilots eject safely

Gwalior, Sep 25: A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday morning. Both the pilots, including a Group Captain and a squadron leader, managed to eject safely.

According to ANI, the MiG-21 was a trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force and the pilots included a Group Captain and a Squadron Leader.

The Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016. In the 2016-17 fiscal, six IAF fighter jets, two helicopters, one transport aircraft and one trainer crashed. In 2017-18, the air force lost two fighter jets and one trainer aircraft in crashes.

The number rose sharply in 2018-19 with the IAF losing seven fighter jets, two helicopters and two trainers.

This included the crash of the MiG-21 fighter jet which was being piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during a dog-fight with Pakistan Air Force planes on February 27.
On the same day, an Mi-17 helicopter also crashed killing six air force personnel.

In 2019-20, so far, an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh, killing 13 air force personnel earlier this month.