Two IAF Aircraft Crash During Training Exercise in Madhya Pradesh
New Delhi: Two Indian Air Force fighter jets – a Sukhoi Su-30 and a Mirage 2000 – crashed in Madhya Pradesh during a training exercise at 5:30 am on Saturday (January 28).
The Su-30 had two pilots while Mirage 2000 had one pilot, NDTV reported. The IAF said in a tweet that one of the pilots had "sustained fatal injuries".
Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission.
One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 28, 2023
Local police found out about the crash at around 10 am on Saturday morning, ANI reported. According to PTI, one aircraft fell in Morena in Madhya Pradesh and the other went down in the general area around Bharatpur, Rajasthan.
Received info about a plane crash around 10-10.15 am. After coming here, it was found it was an IAF fighter jet. Going by the debris, we're unable to adjudge if it's a fighter plane or a regular plane. Yet to know if pilots got out or are still in: Bharatpur DSP at Bharatpur, Raj pic.twitter.com/W9BupSKU8B
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2023
According to the Indian Express, initial reports suggest the crash was due to a mid-air collision, but there has been no confirmation on this yet. Defence minister Rajnath Singh was reportedly briefed on the crash by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a tweet, "The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe."
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