IAF Mig-21 crashes near Jodhpur

In the third IAF fighter aircraft mishap in less than a month, a Mig-21 'Bison' plane on Wednesday crashed near Jodhpur but the pilot ejected safely. The war plane, which had taken off for a routine sortie from the Jodhpur airbase, crashed on a barren stretch of land in Luni village in Mordijoshyan, near here, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kaviraj said. There was no damage on the ground, he said. This is the third IAF fighter aircraft accident in less than a month, the previous mishaps being that of a Mig-27 fighter aircraft, which also crashed near here on May 15, and another involving Sukhoi-30MKI air superiority fighter which crashed near Jaisalmer on April 30. With this Mig-21 crash, the IAF has lost five aircraft this year, 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.

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