The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred. — File photo

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, October 3

A Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Monday crashed in IAF’s Field Firing Range in the Lathi area of Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan. Both the pilots ejected safely.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred at at Khardi-Dhani which is now IAF’s Field Firing Range near the Indo-Pak border, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said. It took off from Jaisalmer and crashed around 1.45 pm.A Court of Inquiry has been ordered, he said. The trainer aircraft crashed following a technical snag, IAF sources said.Jaguar aircraft, a deep strike fighter plane, is capable of carrying nuclear payload. Meanwhile, SHO of Lathi police station Mohan Lal said since the plane crashed on the barren land (sand dunes) no civilian was injured. The two pilots were immediately rushed to Jodhpur by a separate plane. On September 10, a MiG-21 T-69 trainer aircraft crashed near Barmer, while on June 13, a MiG -27 aircraft of the IAF had crashed in a residential area of Jodhpur city.This is the second Jaguar crash within a month. On September 13, a Jaguar trainer aircraft caught fire during a take-off in Haryana’s Ambala. Then too, the pilot made a quick exit and a CoI was ordered. The plane was scheduled to take part in a routine night flying mission.On June 16, 2015, a Jaguar fighter aircraft crashed near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, and both the pilots had managed to eject safely. The plane had taken off at 7.25 am from the Bamrauli air strip in Allahabad and was on a routine training sortie.The same year, another Jaguar aircraft had crashed near the Kurukshetra district of Haryana. Incidentally, this aircraft too had taken-off from Ambala Air Base. — With agencies