Both pilots ejected safely before the crash around 11 a.m., officials said.
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The aircraft developed a snag after its taking-off and crashed at around 1100 hrs, an IAF spokesperson said.
Hawk Advanced Trainer Jet aircraft crashed at Kalaikunda Air Force base in in Midnapore district of West Bengal. Both the pilots who were inside the aircraft ejected safely.
A court of inquiry has been ordered by the Indian Air force into the incident. “There is no reported damage on the ground”, an IAF statement said. Notably, this is the second crash in two months involving a Hawk trainer jet.
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The first IAF Hawk AJT crashed on April 29, 2008 at Air Force Station Bidar (Karnataka), and another crash happened on June 3, 2015, near Baharagora, close to the West Bengal-Odisha border. Budding fighter pilots undergo their stage-III training for a year on Hawk.
