NEW DELHI: A training aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in the country’s northern Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday, with both pilots remaining safe, police said.
The Microlight aircraft was on a routine training sortie from the Bamrauli Air Force Station near Prayagraj when it developed a technical problem and was “safely force-landed in an uninhabited area, ensuring no damage to civilian life or property,” the Indian Air Force said in a post on social media platform X.
“Both the pilots on board are safe,” it said, adding that a probe into the cause of the accident is underway.
A Microlite aircraft of the IAF, while undertaking a routine sortie, from
AF Station Bamrauli near Prayagraj at 1215 hrs on 21 Jan 26, experienced technical malfunction, and was safely force landed in an uninhabitated area, ensuring no damage to civil life or property. Both the…— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 21, 2026
Manish Shandilya, a local police officer, said the training aircraft crashed after its engine suffered a sudden technical malfunction, according to the Press Trust of India.
“In Prayagraj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Manish Shandilya said the aircraft was on a sortie towards Phaphamau and the Sangam area when its engine developed a technical snag,” The Hindu reported.
The report quoted him as saying that the pilots had executed a “controlled and safe landing in a pond”.
In November last year, India’s indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show.
Video footage showed the aircraft performing a low roll before plunging into flames about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the show site. The Indian Air Force later confirmed that the pilot was killed.
In July 2025, the IAF said two pilots died when a Jaguar fighter jet crashed near a village in Rajasthan’s Churu district.
The force said the aircraft was on a routine training mission when it met with an accident, resulting in fatal injuries to both pilots.
Experts argue that the pattern of operational mishaps, crashes, and combat losses reflects systemic issues in pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and overall force readiness.
These failures carry implications for defence credibility, regional security perception, and India’s ambitions for modernising its air force.
