Monday, May 06, 2024 | Last Update : 01:51 PM IST
Pilot killed as MiG-21 fighter jet crashes in Himachal’s Kangra
Squadron Leader Meet Kumar, who was flying the Russian origin MIG 21 Bis aircraft died in the accident.
New Delhi: An Indian Air Force pilot was killed in a MiG-21 fighter jet crash in a village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district on Wednesday. An IAF spokesperson said the aircraft, which was on a routine sortie, crashed around 1.20 pm.
The aircraft had taken off from the Pathankot air base at 12.20 pm, he added. Squadron Leader Meet Kumar, who was flying the Russian origin MIG 21 Bis aircraft died in the accident.
“The pilot sustained fatal injuries during the accident. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the accident,” the official said. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed “deep grief” over death of the pilot. “Our heartfelt condolences to the family of brave pilot Sqn Ldr Meet Kumar, who we lost in the fateful crash,” she said. The Mig-21 jets were inducted into IAF over four decades back and many of these planes were lost in crashes.
Currently the IAF has only one squadron (18 aircraft) of the variant which the force is planning to retire in the next one-and-half to two years. Kangra’s Superintendent of Police Santosh Patial said the fighter jet crashed in Mehra Palli village under the Jawali police station. Air Force personnel reached the crash site on two IAF helicopters to conduct preliminary investigations.
The IAF has been grappling with rising incidents of accidents involving its flying platforms. Replying to a question on incidents of air crash, minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha that a total of 25 accidents involving IAF aircraft were reported since 2015-16. According to data provided by him, a total of 39 people died in the accidents and that IAF lost all the aircraft involved in the crashes.
He said there were five accidents involving aircraft of the Army during the period in which four people were killed.
On June 5, an air commodore of the IAF died when the Jaguar fighter jet he was piloting crashed in Gujarat’s Kutch district. Two pilots of a microlight aircraft in Assam’s Majuli were killed on February 15. A Mi-17 helicopter of the IAF had crashed near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on October 6 last year, killing seven military personnel on board.
