Indian fighter jet crashes during Dubai Airshow, pilot killed
An Indian Tejas fighter jet has crashed at an airshow in the United Arab Emirates, killing the aircraft's pilot.
The Indian-made Tejas Mk 1 aircraft burst into a ball of fire as it crashed into the ground in front of hundreds of shocked spectators during a difficult flying maneuver at the Dubai Airshow on Friday.
The Indian Air Force said in a statement: "IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.
"A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident."
The plane, which was flying at low altitude performing a barrel roll maneuver, seemingly failed to ascend in time.
"The pilot was flying at a low altitude, performing risky maneuvers," one eyewitness said. "Then he seemed he was trying to avoid the accident, he began to steer the plane upwards, but he couldn't do so in time."
The plane went down in an empty stretch of land about 1.6km from the site of the airshow held at Al Maktoum International Airport, located 37km southwest of the city of Dubai.
Videos on social media showed the aircraft plunging to the ground and bursting into flames on impact. Smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it.
The fatal incident happened on the last day of the airshow, which had begun on Monday.
The Indian-made Tejas fighter jet, which entered into service in 2015, is a multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Navy.
Last year, another Tejas warplane belonging to the Indian Air Force crashed near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Subsequent investigations found that an oil pump failure had led to the crash. The pilot reportedly managed to eject in time, and no one was harmed in the crash.
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