On March 12, an Indian-made Tejas light fighter jet crashed near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Fortunately, the pilot was able to safely eject before the crash. A video showing the pilot descending with a parachute seconds before the crash went viral online.
The crash, witnessed during an operational training sortie, is the first time a Tejas aircraft has encountered such an accident. Notably, Jaisalmer Additional Superintendent of Police Mahendra Singh said there was no loss of life or property in the accident.
In fact, the only sign of an incident was the thick black smoke rising from the one-story brick building where the plane crashed.
Interestingly, the crash occurred around 100 km from the Pokharan desert, where the mega war game 'Bharat Shakti' was being held, which was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top military officials. Military sources indicated to PTI that the Tejas aircraft that crashed was scheduled to take part in the exercise.
Following the incident, the Indian Air Force ordered a court of inquiry to investigate the cause of the accident. A statement from the military confirmed that the plane crashed during an operational training sortie and that the pilot ejected safely.
The introduction of Tejas, which means flame or sparkle in Sanskrit, into the fleet in 2016 was a notable development in India's efforts to modernize its largely Soviet-era fleet.
But the crash shattered the plane's safety record since its first test flight more than 20 years ago, an air force officer told Reuters.