IAF's Jaguar aircraft crashes in Gujarat's Kutch, pilot Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan killed

Kutch: An aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Tuesday in Gujarat's Kutch. The pilot, Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan lost his life in the crash. The mishap took place in Bareja village near Mundra in Kutch. Police and rescue teams have been rushed to the spot. Jamnagar airforce team is also reaching the site.

The IAF Jaguar aircraft was on a routine training mission from Jamnagar. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident. An IAF spokesperson said the aircraft met with the accident at around 10.30 am. "The pilot, Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan, sustained fatal injuries during the crash," the spokesperson said.

Court of Inquiry ordered to investigate cause of accident.

The aircraft that crashed is a Jaguar of the Indian Air Force. Jaguar is a twin-engine, single seater deep penetration strike aircraft of Anglo-French origin. It has a maximum speed of 1350 km /hr (Mach 1.3). It has two 30mm guns and can carry two R-350 Magic CCMs (overwing) along with 4750 kg of external stores (bombs/fuel).

The pilot, according to ANI, lost his life in the crash. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident. The plane's debris was strewn far and wide on the outskirts of the village, locals said.

The incident comes months after an IAF helicopter crashed in Assam's Majuli island, killing two pilots. Two Indian Air Force pilots were killed in a crash in Majuli in February, minutes after their microlight aircraft took off on a routine sortie, defence ministry officials had said.

The aircraft crashed in the river island, soon after taking off from the Jorhat air base.