Indian air force pilot killed in plane crash

An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot died on Thursday night when his aircraft crashed, the IAF said.

The Soviet MiG-21 crashed in the Morga district of the northwestern Indian Punjab province during a routine training sortie.

"There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family," said the IAF in a statement.

An inquiry has been launched into the incident, the third of its kind this year.

Moga Superintendent of Police Gurdeep Singh said, “The aircraft crashed in a field and caught fire. It was raining heavily at the time,” reported India Today.

He added that there was no other loss of life or damage to property.

The official said the pilot appeared to have deployed a parachute in a bid to land safely. “It seems he broke his neck upon impact on the ground,” he added.

The pilot's body was found about two kilometres from the crash site, barely 200 metres from a couple of big 'havelis'.