ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Indian MiG-21 Bison
On March 8, a MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force crashed outside the city of Bikaner, India, about 100 km from the Pakistani border, during a ‘routine mission’.
The pilot of the warplane safely ejected. The crashed fighter jet was based at the ob Nal Air Base in Bikaner.
“[This] afternoon a MiG-21 aircraft on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal [Air Base] near Bikaner. Pilot of the aircraft ejected safely. A CoI will investigate the cause of the accident,” the Air Force said in a statement on the issue.
Today afternoon a MiG-21 on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal near Bikaner. Initial inputs indicate likely cause as bird hit after take off. Pilot of the aircraft ejected safely. | @rajatpTOI @writetake @TOIBengaluru @nandibull @tinucherian @JaunetGurudas pic.twitter.com/hJfKoMzkTu
— Chethan Kumar (@ChethanKumarTOI) March 8, 2019
The incident took place amid a recent escalation of the Indian-Pakistani conflict over the Indian strikes on targets inside Pakistan and the followed shot down of an Indian MiG-21 jet by the Pakistani Air Force.
