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Senior pilot killed as Jaguar crashes in Rajasthan
Josy Joseph in New Delhi |
February 26, 2004 12:52 IST
Last Updated: February 26, 2004 14:28 IST
A senior Indian Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday morning when his Jaguar fighter crashed near the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan.
The pilot was identified as Wing Commander Ravi Khanna. According to IAF sources, Khanna took off from Naal airbase to participate in a training exercise.
He was flying low to hit a target when the deep penetration strike aircraft failed to regain height and crashed at 10.40 am.
It is rare for a senior pilot of the rank of Wing Commander to die in a crash and that too flying a Jaguar. Also, the fact the Khanna was a seasoned Jaguar pilot has forced the IAF to take a detailed look at the incident.
As of now, it says the crash may have been the result of a technical problem. It has rushed a high level team from its headquarters in Delhi to Jaisalmer to investigate the crash.
Majority of the IAF fighters that have crashed are MiG-21s and most of the unlucky pilots have been rookies.