IAF plane crashes in Odisha's Mayurbhanj, severely injured pilot rescued

BHUBANESWAR: An Indian Air Force (IAF) plane on Tuesday crashed in Odisha's Mayurbhanj. The Hawk aircraft was airborne from Kalaikunda on a routine training sortie.

The incident left a trainee pilot severely injured. He has, however, been ejected safely. He was rescued by the villagers who rushed him to the hospital.

#SpotVisuals Indian Air Force plane has crashed in Odisha's Mayubhanj pic.twitter.com/ClwlgOiRmH — ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2018

The matter will be investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI), confirmed IAF.

"Today afternoon one Hawk aircraft met with an accident. The aircraft was airborne from Kalaikunda on a routine training sortie. The trainee pilot ejected safely. A CoI will investigate the cause of the accident," said IAF.

(More details awaited)