India's Tejas fighter jet crashes during landing, pilot safe

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) Tejas fighter jet crashed while landing after a routine training mission, according to media reports.

The pilot managed to eject in time and escaped without serious injuries.

The aircraft, however, was badly damaged in the crash and is expected to be written off as unusable. Following the incident, the Air Force ordered a high-level court of inquiry to establish what led to the accident. It has also begun a detailed technical review of the entire fleet of the same aircraft to ensure there is no wider fault affecting other jets.

The plane involved was one of 32 single-seat Tejas aircraft supplied to the Air Force by state-owned manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under India’s locally developed Light Combat Aircraft programme.

The crash comes at a challenging time for the Air Force, which is already dealing with delays in receiving the upgraded Tejas Mark 1A version. The service has placed orders for 180 of these jets as part of its plan to boost combat strength, but deliveries have repeatedly slipped behind schedule.

This is the third major accident linked to the Tejas programme in recent years. In March 2024, another jet went down near Jaisalmer, and a second aircraft was lost during the Dubai Air Show in November 2025 — an incident that resulted in the pilot’s death.