Sqn Ldr from Rohtak among pilots killed in Churu jet crash
The two pilots who died in the Jaguar fighter jet crash on Wednesday have been identified as Squadron Leader Lokendra and Flight Lieutenant Rishi Raj Singh.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) today released the names of the two pilots. Squadron Leader Lokendra hailed from Rohtak in Haryana and is survived by his wife and a month-old son. His co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant Singh, belonged to Pali in Rajasthan.
The jet had taken off from the Suratgarh airbase in Rajasthan before it crashed near Churu in Rajasthan, killing both the pilots. This was the third crash involving the Jaguar in the past four months.
On March 7, a Jaguar went down near Ambala during a routine sortie. The pilot was able to eject safely.
On April 3, another Jaguar jet crashed in Jamnagar, Gujarat, after it developed some critical technical problem, killing the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Yadav.
The Jaguar was inducted into the IAF in 1979. The twin-engine fighter aircraft forms an important part of India's nuclear triad. Britain, France, Ecuador, Nigeria and Oman, which once had Jaguars in their fleet, have retired them long ago, with some jets put on display in air museums. The IAF, too, is expected to begin phasing out its older Jaguar models after 2027-28 onwards.
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