THE pilot of a Tejas fighter jet of the Indian Air Force was killed on Friday after the indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft crashed in a ball of fire during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. It was for the second time in 20 months that the Light Combat Aircraft(LCA) manufactured by the state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was involved in a crash.

 

The earlier accident occurred in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in March last year but the pilot ejected safely. As the crash inside the grounds of an airfield in Dubai cast a tragic shadow on an otherwise mega spectacle on the last day of the event in the desert city, visuals of the accident aired on TV channels showed the jet abruptly dropping height after what looked like a low-altitude manoeuvre and then nosedived into the ground in a matter of seconds before being engulfed in a ball of fire. Black smoke billowed over the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, as horrified spectators, including women and children, seated at a grand stand area behind a fenced airstrip watched in shock. The single-engine light weight aircraft crashed around 2:10 pm local time(3.40 pm IST) after the pilot had flown across the site of the prestigious air show in Dubai during the demonstration flight. The aerial display of Tejas was scheduled to last eight minutes.

 

“An IAF Tejas aircraft met with an accident during an aerial display at Dubai Air Show, today. The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident. “IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief. A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the IAF said in a brief statement posted on its X handle. The pilot was not immediately identified. More details related to the deceased pilot and the court of inquiry are awaited. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was deeply anguished at the loss of a “brave and courageous IAF pilot”. “My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The nation stands firmly with the family in this tragic hour,” he said in a post of X. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said the Armed Forces stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.