MIG-21 crashes near Jodhpur, pilot safe

In the third Indian Air Force fighter aircraft mishap in less than a month, a MIG-21 'Bison' plane on Thursday crashed near Jodhpur but the pilot ejected safely.

The war plane, which had taken off for a routine sortie in the forenoon from the Jodhpur airbase, crashed on a barren stretch of land in Luni village in Mordijoshyan, near Jodhpur, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kaviraj said.

There was no damage on the ground, he said. This is the third IAF fighter aircraft accident in less than a month, the previous mishaps being that of a MIG-27 fighter aircraft, which also crashed near here on May 15, and the one involving Sukhoi-30MKI air superiority fighter, which crashed near Jaisalmer on April 30.

With this MIG-21 crash, the IAF has lost its fifth aircraft this year, the first being a Kiran-MKII of the Surya Kiran aerobatics team in Bidar on January 21, followed by an unmanned aerial vehicle mishap on the same day in Hashimara.