IAF MiG-21 trainer aircraft crashes in Rajasthan, pilots safe

The MiG-21 T-69 aircraft took off from the Uttarlai airforce station in Barmer. The plane crashed in an open field, about 20 km from the city.

A MiG-21 trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer district today but both the pilots were able to eject safely.

The MiG-21 T-69 aircraft, which took off from the Uttarlai airforce station in Barmer, crashed near the airbase, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said.

Both the pilots ejected safely, he said.

No damage on the ground was reported, Ojha said, adding a court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

"The plane crashed in an open field near Malio ki Dhani, about 20 km from the city," Superintendent of Police, Barmer, Gagandeep Singla said.

On June 13, 2016, an IAF  MiG-27 fighter aircraft crashed in a residential area in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district. Reports then had claimed that the pilot had ejected safely from the aircraft, but some local residents had suffered injuries on the ground.