2 pilots dead as Jaguar crashes in Rajasthan

Two IAF pilots were killed in a Jaguar fighter jet crash in Rajasthan on Wednesday. This was the third crash involving the Jaguar in the past four months.

The IAF has so far not released the names of the dead pilots. It said a Jaguar trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan. The aircraft had taken off from Suratgarh in Rajasthan.

A trainer aircraft has two pilots — one is a trainer with years of flying experience while the other is a young IAF pilot, finetuning his skills.

Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported.

In a statement, the IAF said it deeply regretted the loss of lives and stood firmly with the bereaved families in this time of grief.

A court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.

This is the third Jaguar crash this year. On March 7, a Jaguar went down near Ambala during a routine sortie. The pilot was able to eject safely.

On April 3, another Jaguar crashed at Jamnagar in Gujarat. The pilot, Flt Lt Siddharth Yadav, died in the crash that occurred due to a technical glitch in the aircraft.

The Jaguar jets were inducted into the IAF in 1979. The twin-engine fighter aircraft forms an important part of India’s nuclear triad.

Countries such as the UK, France, Ecuador, Nigeria and Oman, which once had Jaguars in their fleet, have retired these long ago, with some jets put on display in air museums.

The IAF, too, is expected to begin phasing out its older Jaguar models after 2027-28.

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