Two Indian Air Force pilots died when a Jaguar trainer plane crashed in the vicinity of Churu in Rajasthan on Wednesday. The dead have been named as Squadron Leader Lokender Singh Sindhu, 32 years from Rohtak in Haryana, and Flight Lieutenant Rishi Raj Singh from Pali in Rajasthan.
The plane was on a normal training mission when it crashed, the third such accident of Jaguar jets since March. In a formal release, the IAF confirmed, “Both pilots suffered fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported.”
An eyewitness witnessed a burst of smoke immediately after the crash and appreciated the pilot’s attempt to stay away from residential areas. “Parts of the pilot’s body were scattered. One IAF diary was also discovered, and we gave it to the SHO.Pilot attempted his best to save the village, I can say it for sure (avoid a crash there),” Rajdeep informed ANI. Still, he did not indicate which pilot’s diary was recovered or mention either pilot by name.
The Indian Air Force has directed a court of inquiry to find out the reason behind the accident, which has increased alarm since it is the third Jaguar crash in more than four months.
Earlier, on April 2, a pilot died when a Jaguar crashed in the vicinity of the Jamnagar IAF station in Gujarat. Before that, on March 7, another Jaguar crashed soon after it took off from the Ambala air base following a suspected system failure.
The Jaguar, a British-French fighter aircraft, was originally inducted by India in the 1970s and has been a key component in the IAF’s combat fleet ever since.
