A MIG-27 ground attack aircraft crashed in Jalpaiguri district on January 31, injuring a boy but the pilot ejected to safety.
The MIG-27 crashed near Chinchula tea garden at 12:40 pm, Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri, S Tripurari told PTI. An IAF spokesman in Delhi said that the aircraft was on a routine training mission and crashed 10.2 km east of the Hashimara airbase.
The pilot, Jasbir Singh, parachuted to safety, Tripurari said, adding that he was extended immediate help by the Army after he reached the ground. The boy was hit by debris of the aircraft and was injured, the SP said.
It was the first mishap of an IAF aircraft this year. The Air Force has instituted a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the crash. The MIG-27s, which were inducted in the late 80s, have had a comparatively safer record than other MIG variants. This was the first crash of a MIG-27 in the last 10 years.