Uttar Pradesh: IAF’s Jaguar plane crashes in Kushinagar, pilot ejects safely

Kushinagar, Jan 28: An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter plane on Monday crashed in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. However, the pilot ejected safely using a parachute. No causality has been reported.

IAF's Jaguar fighter plane had taken off from the Gorakhpur Air Force base, news agency ANI reported.

The police and officials from administration have rushed to the accident site. A court of inquiry has been ordered to find out the reason for the crash.

"Today (Monday) morning, a Jaguar aircraft while on a routine mission from Gorakhpur, crashed. Pilot ejected safely. A court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the accident," IAF said in a statement, according to ANI.

Last year, an IAF pilot was killed after a Jaguar crashed in Gujarat's Kutch in June.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre had in March last year told Parliament that there were five crashes of IAF aircraft in 2017-2018, and 31 crashes in four years. The force has an estimated 600 fighter jets across 31 squadrons.