IAF Jaguar fighter jet develops snag while landing, pilot safe

Around 9:20 am, the pilot of a Jaguar aircraft, on a routine mission from Jamnagar, safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase.

india Updated: Jun 08, 2018 15:12 IST
File photo of debris of an Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet that crashed, killing its pilot, soon after it took off from the Jamnagar air base in Gujarat, in Kutch on June 5. (PTI photo)

An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet on Friday developed a technical snag during landing at the Jamnagar Air Force base, an IAF official said.

The pilot of the aircraft is safe as he rescued himself in time, said the official.

“Around 9:20 am, the pilot of a Jaguar aircraft, on a routine mission from Jamnagar, safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase. It was a minor accident. Pilot is safe,” said the official.

He said a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident.

According to him, the plane has not crash landed, as it had only developed a technical snag.There was only minor damage to the fighter jet, he said.

The incident comes just three days after another Jaguar fighter jet crashed in Kutch in which senior IAF pilot Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan was killed.

Air Commodore Chauhan, a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal and the Air Officer Commanding of Jamnagar Air Force Station, died when the deep penetration plane crashed in a field in Bareja village on June 5.