An Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 trainer aircraft crashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district during a routine training sortie on Thursday. Both pilots were safely ejected before the crash, and no casualties were reported in the incident, according to official statement.
The twin-seater trainer aircraft caught fire after crashing in an agriculture field near Barheta Sani village at around 2.40 pm after reportedly developing a snag.
Indian Air Force said in a social media post, “A Mirage 2000 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Gwalior, during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. Both the pilots ejected safely. An enquiry has been ordered by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident.â€
Both the pilots were airlifted to Gwalior by a helicopter. The Mirage aircraft with two pilots took off from the Gwalior Airbase.
The Mirage 2000, a multi-role fighter aircraft, has been a crucial part of the Indian Air Force and has played a significant role in various operations, including the Balakot airstrikes in 2019. It also played a big role during the Kargil war. IAF has three squadrons(one squadron has 18-20 planes) of Mirage-2000 and based at Gwalior. These jets were inducted to IAF in 1985 after a contract with French manufacturer Dassault.
