Jaguar fighter jet crashes near Allahabad, pilots eject

A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Tuesday morning during a training sortie in Chaka area of Allahabad district and both the pilots ejected safely, the second such incident this year.

The aircraft had taken off at 7:25 am from the IAF's Central Air Command at Bamrauli on the outskirts of the city and crashed at 8.47 AM in an uninhabited field close to a Food Corporation of India warehouse at Chaka, about 50 km away, IAF and police said, adding there was no casualty.

A court of inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

A huge fire broke out as soon as the aircraft hit the ground and fire brigade was pressed into service. A small part of the wreckage caused minor damage to a boundary wall of one of the buildings, police said.

"Both the pilots had apparently sensed that something was wrong as they ejected before the aircraft came crashing down," Additional Superintendent of Police (trans-Yamuna), Allahabad, Ashutosh Mishra, said.

"Since there were no people nearby, the crash resulted in no injuries. No noticeable damage to property was visible either. A small part of the wreckage went flying off and caused minor damage to a boundary wall of one of the buildings nearby. Both pilots also landed safely," he said.

Fire brigade was pressed into service as the wreckage had caught fire. Locals came rushing to the spot in large numbers after hearing the crash. They did their bit in assisting the fire brigade personnel. The flames were doused after nearly an hour.

"The aircraft has broken into smithereens as a result of the crash," Mishra added.

"A number of IAF personnel also arrived at the spot. They took the two pilots who had a close shave," the Additional SP said.

In March, another Jaguar aircraft had crashed in agricultural fields near Shahbad town in Haryana with the pilot ejecting safely from the plane.