Updated at 10:27pm
AHMEDABAD: The Indian Air Force lost its third MiG-29 this year when a jet crashed on Tuesday near an airfield at Jamnagar.
IAF spokesman Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani said the pilot, Flt Lt Krishan Kant, managed to eject safely.
Fire services of the air force and district administration were rushed to the site but the rescue operation was being hampered due to darkness in the area of the crash, officials said.
A court enquiry has been set up.
The Russian-made MiG-29 was on a routine sortie, officials said.
This was the fifth jet lost by the IAF this year. Earlier, an upgraded MiG-21 had crashed near Jamnagar in January while a trainer version of the MiG-29 crashed near an island in the coastal waters off Jamnagar in June.
Another MiG-29 crashed near Ambala in Haryana in September.
Eight IAF aircraft had crashed last year.
