MiG-21 crashes near Gwalior, both pilots safe

NEW DELHI: A MiG-21 has crashed near the city of Gwalior. According to sources both pilots ejected safely.

The MiG-21 was a trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force and the pilots included a Group Captain and a Squadron Leader.

The aircraft was on a routine training mission from Gwalior Airbase when it crashed near the airfield at around 10 AM.


The trainer jet crashed in Choudhary-ka-Pura in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, police from the area said.

"The two pilots ejected safely according to the information passed to us from the village head from the spot, some 60 km from the district headquarters," Bhind Superintendent of Police Rudolf Alvares told PTI.

“We informed the IAF officials in Gwalior about the incident,” the SP added.

"Both pilots, a Squadron Leader and a Group Captain, ejected safely and were picked up by a rescue helicopter. The aircraft was a Type-69 twin-seated trainer aircraft," said an IAF official.

A Court of Inquiry will ascertain the cause of the accident.


The Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik had said in June 2019. The figure included the downed MiG-21 of Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during a dog-fight with Pakistan Air Force planes on February 27.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)