Indian Air Force MIG-27 Crashes, Seven Injured

May 16, 2009 8:26 a.m. EST

New Delhi, India (AHN) - Seven people were wounded when an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jet crashed in a village in Jodhpur in the western Indian state of Rajasthan on Friday morning, a Defense Ministry official said.

The MiG-27 pilot, a squadron leader, ejected out of the cockpit safely just before the aircraft crashed between 8:10 and 8:20 a.m. in Konkani village in Luni, while on a routine sortie, Indian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lt. Col. N. N. Joshi said.

He also said the IAF has ordered a probe into the crash.

The incident was the fourth crash of an IAF aircraft this year. A heavy Su-30MKI fighter plane crashed near Jaisalmer on April 30.

The last MiG-27 crash took place in Hashimara on January 31, 2008.