IAF MiG-21 Bison fighter jet crashes in Rajasthan’s Barmer, pilot ejects safely

The pilot was able to eject safely out of the IAF aircraft that crashed

Yet another MiG-21 Bison fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed on August 25, taking the total number of MiG-21 crashes this year so far to four.

The MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed in Rajasthan’s Barmer district during a training sortie. However, the IAF pilot ejected safely.

As per the Indian Air Force, the incident occurred at around 5.30 pm on August 25 due to a technical malfunction.

The IAF tweeted: “At around 1730 hrs today, an IAF MiG-21 Bison aircraft airborne for a training sortie in the western sector, experienced a technical malfunction after take-off. The pilot ejected safely.”

A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain what caused the IAF fighter jet crash.

A MiG-21 Bison fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer on Wednesday. This is the fourth incident involving a MiG-21 Bison aircraft this year.

Earlier, in May 2021, another MiG-21 Bison fighter jet had crashed in Punjab’s Moga district. The pilot -- Squadron Leader Abhinav Choudhary – was killed in the crash.

Another IAF pilot flying a MiG-21 Bison was killed in a crash in March this year. The accident took place while the aircraft was taking off for training in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior.

The first MiG-21 Bison crash took place in January this year. The pilot had ejected safely and survived the crash.