Two Airforce Aircraft Collide Mid-Air in Central India

Two Indian air force fighter aircraft collided mid-air in central India killing one pilot, a government statement said.

(Bloomberg) — Two Indian air force fighter aircraft collided mid-air in central India killing one pilot, a government statement said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place Saturday near the city of Gwalior, the air force said in the statement, adding that the aircraft were on routine training mission. One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries, it added.

The accident involved a Russian made Sukhoi-30 and a French-made Mirage-2000, an official with knowledge of the matter added, asking not to be identified, because the details were not public.

India has a history of fatal military crashes owing to its aging fleet. India’s then Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, was killed in late 2021 when the Russian-made helicopter he was traveling in crashed in Southern India.

In 2016, in one of the worst ever air accidents, a Russian-made medium lift transporter flying to Andaman Nicobar Island from Chennai crashed into the Bay of Bengal, killing all 29 persons on board. And in 2019, another 13 people were killed when another AN-32 craft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh.

–With assistance from Eltaf Najafizada.

(updates with air force statement)

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