A Bison aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Punjab’s Moga district late on May 20, in which a pilot was killed.
The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.
“There was an aircraft accident last night [May 20] 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,” said a tweet by the IAF.
“A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the tweet added.
Moga’s Superintendent of Police Gurdeep Singh on May 21 told The Hindu that the incident took place at around 9.30 p.m. on Thursday at Langeana village, near Baghapurana, in Moga.
“Our police rushed to the spot immediately after receiving the information about the incident. The aircraft crashed in an open field near the village. After a search operation amid the rainfall, we recovered the body of the pilot at around 3 a.m. He was dead at the time when the body was recovered. The medical team of IAF was also accompanying us and the medical officer of IAF confirmed that the pilot was dead,” said Mr. Singh.
Mr. Singh added that the pilot was on a routine training sortie when the incident happened.