Chandigarh, June 15 (IANS) A MiG-21 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed Tuesday near the Halwara air base in Punjab, but the pilot ejected safely out of the cockpit, said an IAF spokesperson.
The crash, the third this year, took place around 11.15 a.m. just outside Sidhwan Khas range of the Halwara Air Base, nearly 30 km from Punjab’s Ludhiana town, the spokesperson said.
The pilot had flown from the Pathankot air base for a routine training sortie, he said.
The air force lost a MiG-27 fighter Feb 16 when it crashed near Hashimara in West Bengal. Wing Commander Oswald de Abreu, who was flying the plane, died in the crash.
A MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed Feb 19 at Bagdogra, also in West Bengal. But the pilot ejected safely out of the cockpit.
