Article Posted on : - May 27, 2009

Mig-21 'Bison' fighter aircraft. A File photo

JODHPUR (PTI): In the third IAF fighter aircraft mishap in less than a month, a Mig-21 'Bison' plane today crashed near Jodhpur but the pilot ejected safely.

The war plane, which had taken off for a routine sortie in the forenoon from the Jodhpur airbase, crashed on a barren stretch land in Luni village in Mordijoshyan, near here, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kaviraj said.

There was no damage on the ground, he said. Police sources said that the pilot had ejected safely.

This is the third IAF fighter aircraft accident in less than a month, the previous mishaps being that of Mig-27 fighter aircraft, which also crashed near here on May 15, and the one involving Sukhoi-30MKI air superiority fighter which crashed near Jaisalmer on April 30.

With this Mig-21 crash, the IAF has lost this year five aircraft, the first being a Kiran-MKII of the Surya Kiran aerobatics team in Bidar on January 21 followed by an unmanned aerial vehicle mishap the same day in Hashimara.