IAF’s Sukhoi, Mirage fighter jets crash in MP: 1 pilot dead

Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission.
One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 28, 2023

Defence Sources told news agency ANI that the Su-30 fighter jet had two pilots while Mirage 2000 had one pilot during the crash. The fighter aircrafts were on a routine operational flying training mission when the mishap took place.

“The possible mid-air collision between the two aircraft took place when they were flying a simulated combat mission at very high speeds,” ANI tweeted citing defence sources.

Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft crash near Morena, Madhya Pradesh | The possible mid-air collision between the two aircraft took place when they were flying a simulated combat mission at very high speeds. More details would come out in the court of inquiry: Defence sources pic.twitter.com/aE5RwGs6Xy

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2023

Earlier in the day, two pilots were rescued by the rescue team and an IAF chopper was reaching the location of the third pilot, ANI reported.

The Indian Air Force will establish a court of inquiry to determine if a mid-air collision or any other cause was behind the incident.

#WATCH | Wreckage seen. A Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed near Morena, Madhya Pradesh. Search and rescue operations launched. The two aircraft had taken off from the Gwalior air base where an exercise was going on. pic.twitter.com/xqCJ2autOe

— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2023

Both the aircrafts had taken off from the Gwalior Air Base, where the IAF is conducting an exercise.

Wreckage of jets was also seen in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur. Earlier the district’s District Collector Alok Ranjan said that a charter jet crashed, however defence sources confirmed that the IAF’s fighter jets crashed in the vicinity.

Also Read: IAF’s Sukhoi, Mirage fighter jets crash in MP’s Morena

More details are awaited.