MiG-21 crashes near Rajasthan's Bikaner; pilot ejects safely

The aircraft took off from the NAL air force base for a routine mission.

JAIPUR: A MiG-21 fighter jet crashed near Rajasthan's Bikaner city on Friday afternoon. The pilot has been ejected safely. 

The aircraft, which took off from the NAL air force base for a routine mission, crashed 14 kilometres away near Shobhasar ki Dhani village. No loss of life has been reported. 

"Initial inputs suggest a bird hit," said the Defence Spokesperson. "

A team of the Indian Air Force and local police have reached the spot of the accident. The entire area has been cordoned off. 

"Today afternoon a MiG-21 aircraft on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal near Bikaner. Pilot of the aircraft ejected safely. A CoI (Court of Inquiry) will investigate the cause of the accident," said the IAF in a statement.

Today afternoon a MiG-21 aircraft on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal near Bikaner. Pilot of the aircraft ejected safely. Initial inputs suggest a bird hit. CoI will be investigating the cause of the accident.@PMOIndia @nsitharaman @PIB_India @IAF_MCC — Defence Spokesperson (@SpokespersonMoD) March 8, 2019

This comes days after the February 27 incident which witnessed a MiG 21 bison fighter jet shooting down Pakistan Armed Force's F-16 warplane. 

The aircraft, manoeuvred by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was shot down by PAF.  Abhinandan was also taken captive by Pakistan. He was released nearly 60 hours later.

MiG-21 is a single-engine single-seater fighter aircraft used widely by the IAF. 

The Russian-origin warplane is an all-weather multirole air defence aircraft which can hit a maximum speed of 2,230 kilometres per hour (Mach 2.1).