NEW DELHI, India: Another MiG-21 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Bikander City of Indian northern State of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.
However, the pilot survived after he ejected the aircraft safely.
The initial reports suggest that a bird hit the aircraft which caused its crash.
In a twitter statement, the Principal Spokesperson of the Indian Defence Ministry said that the MiG-21 aircraft was on a routine mission on Friday afternoon when it crashed near Bikander.
The Spokesperson said that the pilot ejected safely and as per the initial inputs, a bird hit the jet.
However, he added that the Court of Inquiry will be investigating the cause of the accident.
Today afternoon a MiG-21 aircraft on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal near Bikaner. Pilot of the aircraft ejected safely. Initial inputs suggest a bird hit. CoI will be investigating the cause of the accident.@PMOIndia @nsitharaman @PIB_India @IAF_MCC
— Defence Spokesperson (@SpokespersonMoD) March 8, 2019
It’s the second MiG-21 fighter jet which the IAF had to lose in last 10 days. Earlier on February 27, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) JF-17 Thunder shot down a MiG-21 in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).
Resultantly, the IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman also fell into the custody of Pakistan army; however, he was released as a peace gesture by the Pakistani government on March 1.
