Posted inTransportLatest NewsNewsWorld

India plane crash: 2 fighter jets collide in mid-air, pilot killed

Indian air force jets collide in mid-air, pilot killed says government statement

India plane crash
Two Indian air force fighter aircraft collided mid-air in central India killing one pilot. Image: ANI

Two Indian air force fighter aircraft collided mid-air killing one pilot, a government statement said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place Saturday near the city of Gwalior, the air force said in the statement, adding that the aircraft were on routine training mission.

One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries, it added.

India air force plane crash

The accident involved a Russian-made Sukhoi-30 and a French-made Mirage-2000, an official with knowledge of the matter added, asking not to be identified, because the details were not public.

India has a history of fatal military crashes owing to its aging fleet.

Then Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, was killed in late 2021 when the Russian-made helicopter he was traveling in crashed in Southern India.

In 2016, in one of the worst ever air accidents, a Russian-made medium lift transporter flying to Andaman Nicobar Island from Chennai crashed into the Bay of Bengal, killing all 29 persons on board.

In 2019, another 13 people were killed when another AN-32 craft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh.

Earlier this month a plane crash in Nepal left at least 67 people dead, Agence France-Presse reported. The Yeti Airlines flight, with 72 people on board, crashed in Nepal on January 15.

Follow us on

For all the latest business news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.