A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near a village in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir Monday morning. The pilot managed to eject safely from the aircraft. A senior IAF official said the aircraft was on a routine training sortie and crashed shortly after it took off from Srinagar air base around 11 am. According to Budgam police, the aircraft crashed into a paddy field very close to Soibugh village and skidded before getting entangled into the trees. “The trees saved the entire village, otherwise there could have been a lot of damage,” said a senior police officer. The pilot was immediately airlifted by a helicopter after he was found near the village. A defense spokesperson said that a court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.
