Video: IAF fighter jet crashes in Haryana's Panchkula district, pilot ejects safely; inquiry ordered

IAF jet crashes: A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Haryana's Panchkula district during a training sortie on Friday. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely.

The aircraft, which had taken off from the Ambala airbase, crashed after encountering system malfunction.

“The IAF aircraft crashed in the hilly terrain of Panchkula district. The pilot ejected safely,” PTI quoted SHO Raipurrani as saying.

The IAF said in a post on X that the pilot manoeuvred the aircraft away from any habitation on the ground before ejecting safely. The IAF has also ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Earlier in February, a Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in an agriculture field in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district after developing a snag.

The twin-seater trainer aircraft caught fire after crashing in an agriculture field near Barheta Sani village.

In September 2024, A MiG-29 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer district.

The incident took place during a routine night training mission in the Barmer sector. An IAF MiG-29 encountered a critical technical snag, forcing the pilot to eject.

Meanwhile, in another development, ANI reported that a high-level Defence Ministry committee has accepted the need for the service to acquire new multi-role fighter aircraft to enhance its fighting capabilities.

The acceptance of the Indian Air Force requirement is learnt to be part of the report submitted by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh to the Defence Minister on 'Capability Enhancement of IAF'.

Sources told ANI that the committee has accepted the need for the Indian Air Force to have new multi-role fighter jets to meet its requirements for preparing for the next generation of conflicts.

The committee submitted the recommendations to the government when the US was pushing for selling its single-engine F-35 fifth-generation fighter aircraft while the Russian side was offering its Su-57 fifth-generation fighter.