IAF orders inquiry after Su-30 and Mirage 2000 crashed in MP's Morena

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered an inquiry after two IAF fighter jets crashed near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, killing one of the three pilots. Sukhoi Su-30 and Mirage 2000 were the two fighter jets involved in the crash. While the two pilots on the Su-30 sustained minor injuries, the Mirage 2000 pilot died after he was seriously injured in the crash. The parts of the crashed aircraft were found in Bharatpur in Rajasthan and Morena in Madhya Pradesh.
It is suspected that the crash may have occurred due to a mid-air collision between the fighter jets. The jets took off from the Gwalior Air Force base and crashed at around 5:30 in the morning.

Updates about the fatal crash we have till now:

A Sukhoi Su-30 and Mirage 2000 crashed near Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior during a regular training exercise at 5:30 in the morning after a suspected mid-air collision. The two pilots present in Sukhoi Su-30 were able to eject on time and survived the crash with minor injuries, while the one pilot present in Mirage 2000 died during the crash.

The two pilots were taken to the hospital in a helicopter.

As per the initial reports, one aircraft reportedly fell in Morena in Madhya Pradesh, and the other was found around Bharatpur. Sources suggested that the suspected mid-air collision between the two jets occurred when both were flying a simulated combat mission at very high speeds. The remains of the jets were found 100 kms away from the site of the crash in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur. Bharatpur and Morena are a few minutes away when it comes to flying.

The IAF has ordered an investigation to determine whether the crash resulted from a mid-air collision.

IAF confirmed the tragic incident and shared the developments through a tweet. The tweet reads, "Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission. One of the three pilots involved sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident."

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted, "The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe."

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is continuously monitoring the situation and is in touch with the IAF chief VR Chaudhari. Chaudhari gave Defence Minister a brief about the whole situation, and Singh also checked on the health updates of the pilots, sources told India Today.

Also Read: Two Indian Air Force fighter jets crashed in MP's Morena; One pilot died