IAF Jaguar develops snag while landing, pilot escapes unhurt

An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet developed a technical snag during landing at the Jamnagar Air Force base and the pilot's seat got "ejected automatically", an IAF official said.

The pilot of the aircraft was safe, said the official.

"At around 9:20 am, the pilot of a Jaguar aircraft, on a routine mission from Jamnagar, safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase. It was a minor accident. Pilot is safe," said the official.

He said a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident.

According to him, the plane had not crash landed as it had only developed a technical snag. There was only minor damage to the fighter jet, he said.

The official said that the aircraft had developed a technical snag related to the "seat ejection system" while landing.

"As per primary reports, the pilot's seat got ejected automatically when the plane landed at the airbase. It was a minor accident which may have caused some damage to the aircraft. However, it is repairable. Luckily, the pilot escaped unhurt in the incident," the official said.

The incident comes just three days after another Jaguar fighter jet crashed in Kutch in which senior IAF pilot Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan was killed.

Air Commodore Chauhan, a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal and the Air Officer Commanding of Jamnagar Air Force Station, died when the deep penetration plane crashed in a field in Bareja village on June 5.