Pilots of a twin-seater Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft ejected safely before the aircraft crashed near Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh while it was on a routine training sortie on Thursday.
The accident happened near Sunari Chowki.
A Court of Inquiry is being ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash, Defence officials cited by news agency ANI said.
Visuals from the crash site showed the pieces of the aircraft on fire, with plumes of smoke arising from them.
Indian Air Force said in a post on X, “A Mirage 2000 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Shivpuri (Gwalior), during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. Both the pilots ejected safely. An enquiry has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
In November 2024, a MiG-29 fighter jet crashed into a field near Uttar Pradesh’s Agra during a routine training sortie due to a technical glitch. The pilot ejected himself to safety at the time of the crash.
The plane had taken off from Adampur in Punjab and was on its way to Agra for an exercise when the incident happened.
“A MiG-29 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Agra during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. The pilot manoeuvred the aircraft to ensure no damage to life or property on the ground, before ejecting safely. An inquiry has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident, the Air Force had said in a statement.