The Indian Air Force on Monday lost a Jaguar deep penetration strike fighter aircraft in an accident after the plane took off from Gorakhpur airbase and crashed in nearby Kushinagar.

"Today morning, a Jaguar aircraft while on a routine mission from Gorakhpur, crashed. Pilot ejected safely. A court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the accident," an IAF spokesperson said.

Sources in the Air Force said that prima facie it appears that the twin-engine aircraft had developed some technical defect some time after the plane took off from Gorakhpur.

The crash happened when the pilot was trying to return to Gorakhpur air base and land it there, they said.

The pilot Wg Cdr Katoch is an ace pilot of the Jaguar fighter team and is the Flight Commander of the 27 Squadron of Jaguars based out of Gorakhpur.

The Flight Commander of a squadron is the second-in-Command or the second seniormost officer in the unit.

The IAF has a fleet of around 100 Jaguar fighter planes which were imported from Europe in the late 1970s. The force has plans of further upgrading and re-engining the fighter plane which has a long range strike capability.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)