A Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed at a village in Sawai Madhopur soon after taking off from Gwalior air base in Madhya Pradesh at 12.40 pm on Monday. The pilot and the co-pilot managed to eject safely. The crash took place 60 kilometres east of Jaipur in a plain area at Baman Bass village. “Both pilots ejected on time and landed safely. No casualty or property damage was reported,” said Col S D Goswami, defence spokesperson. Both were found 2 kilometres away from the crash spot and are recuperating at Military Hospital, Jaipur. The aircraft was being flown by Squadron Leader Pranav Raj and Flight Lieutenant Kanav who had got airborne from Gwalior airbase at 12.15pm for a routine sortie. The plane soon developed a technical snag and crashed in a plain area. Eyewitness said that both pilots managed to eject seconds before it hit the ground. The local administration rushed police and a doctor to the spot. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain the reason of crash. Police said the wreckage of the plane was found in a radius of 1-2 kilometres from the spot. Meanwhile, two IAF helicopters arrived at the spot around 3pm. They secured the entire area. “By evening, they had collected almost all wreckage from the area. The IAF team had started an inquiry,” said a local police officer. A video footage shot by an eyewitness on his mobile phone shows the fighter plane swirling in the sky dangerously at a low height. It was moving in a circle as if making an acrobatic move. The loud sound had grabbed the attention of villagers who could see the plane making zig zag movement on top of their head. “We enjoyed the acrobatic move till we saw the pilot and co-pilot ejecting out. It made us realize that something was wrong and we could also be in danger,” said an eyewitness.
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