MIG-21 crashes in Moga, Squadron Leader killed
MOGA: An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot was killed after his MIG-21 fighter jet crashed at Langeana Purana village in Moga district late on Thursday, the police and the air force said in separate statements on Friday.
The jet flown by Squadron Leader Abhinav Choudhary was on a routine training sortie and was returning to Suratgarh when the mishap occurred, officials familiar with the matter said.
“There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family. A court of inquiry (COI) has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” said the IAF in a tweet. The pilot hailed from UP.
Police officials said they got the information about the crash around 11pm, and it took them three hours to spot the pilot’s body.
“The aircraft crashed in a field and caught fire. It was raining heavily at the time,” Moga SSP Gurdeep Singh said, adding that there was no other loss of life or damage to property The pilot’s body was found about two km from the crash site, barely 200 metres from a couple of big houses. “Had the aircraft crashed over these houses, it could have caused heavy casualties,” the SSP said.
He said the pilot appeared to have deployed a parachute in a bid to land safely. “It seems he broke his neck upon impact on the ground,” added the SSP.