Senior IAF officer dies in Jaguar crash in Gujarat Kutch

An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet on Tuesday crashed in Gujarat’s Kutch district soon after it took off from the Jamnagar air base, killing a senior officer who was piloting the aircraft, a defence spokesperson said. Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan, the Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station Jamnagar, who was flying the deep penetration Jaguar fighter jet died when the plane crashed in a field in Bareja village. “The Jaguar aircraft on a routine training mission from Jamnagar crashed around 10.30 am,” Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said here. “The pilot, Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan, sustained fatal injuries in the crash,” he said. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered (by the air headquarters) to investigate the cause of the accident, he said. “The plane, which was on a routine sortie, crashed near Bareja village,” he said. Some cows grazing in the field were killed after being hit by the jet’s debris, locals said. The plane’s debris was strewn far and wide on the outskirts of the village and carcasses of the killed animals were seen lying in the field, they said.