An Indian Air Force MiG-21 aircraft crashed near Moga in Punjab in the wee hours of Friday. The pilot, Squadron Leader Abhinav Choudhary, of the IAF aircraft was killed in the crash, the air force said.
A pilot of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was killed after a MiG-21 aircraft crashed near Moga in Punjab in the wee hours of Friday, officials said.
The incident took place around 1 am on Friday when the Mig-21 of the IAF crashed at Langiana Khurd village of Baghapurana in Moga. The IAF aircraft was on a routine training sortie when the accident happened, the air force officials said.
“There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of the 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,” the Indian Air Forces said on Twitter. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, IAF said.
Moga Superintendent of Police Gurdeep Singh said, “The aircraft crashed in a field and caught fire. It was raining heavily at the time,” and added that there was no other loss of life or damage to property
He said the pilot appeared to have deployed a parachute in a bid to land safely. “It seems he broke his neck upon impact on the ground,” he added.
The pilot’s body was found about two kilometres from the crash site, barely 200 metres from a couple of big ‘havelis’.
“Had the aircraft crashed over these houses, it could have caused heavy casualties,” the SHO told PTI.
He added that IAF officials from Halwara and Bathinda with medical teams and ambulances reached the crash site, about 12 km from Baghapurana town on the Mudki road.
IAF pilot Abhinav Choudhary was a resident of Ganganagar in Meerut. The Squadron Leader’s family is originally from Baghpat but has been residing in Meerut.
