Allahabad, June 16 (IANS) A Jaguar trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near here on Tuesday, minutes after it took off on a routine sortie, an official said. Both the pilots ejected safely.
An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
The plane took off from the Bamrauli IAF station in Allahabad for a training sortie. Within minutes, the pilots signalled a technical glitch.
With no control over the aircraft, the pilots ejected and the plane crashed close to the Food Corporation of India godown near Naini area, 13 km from Allahabad.
The aircraft caught fire on impact and fire tenders were rushed to the crash site.
Officials told IANS that the area was cordoned off and there were no casualties on the ground.
This is the second crash of a Jaguar plane this year. Earlier, a fighter plane went down in a similar manner in Haryana. The pilot in that crash too had made a distress call after facing technical difficulties within minutes of take-off. He had suffered minor injuries.
Between 2011 and 2014, at least four Jaguar crashes have been reported. Jaguar, an Anglo-French attack jet fighter, has played an important role in several operations, including the 1999 Kargil war.
Induction of Jaguar aircraft in Indian Air Force began in 1979.