A Hawk training jet of the Indian Air Force crashed on a paddy field in a village near Kharagpur on Wednesday afternoon.
“A Hawk trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force met with an accident during a training sortie. Both the pilots ejected safely,” a senior official of the eastern air command said.
“A court of inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause. No lives were lost and there was no damage to civilian property.”
Eyewitnesses, mostly farmers who were working in an adjacent field, said the jet wobbled for some time while descending and crashed on the field with a deafening sound.
This was around 3.30pm and not many people were around the crash site, they told police.
The Hawk is a jet-powered advanced trainer used by air forces around the world. Manufactured by BAE Systems, the Hawk is designed to provide training to pilots to fly high-performance fighter aircraft.
The Hawk has a cockpit arrangement that allows an instructor pilot to fly alongside a trainee to provide guidance during training missions.
After the crash, a team of officers from Kharagpur police station and senior IAF officers from Kalaikunda reached the site and carried out rescue operations, including removing the wreckage.
“The plane crashed on a paddy field in the Diasa area of Kharagpur. Some farmers who were working in the field adjoining the crash site joined us in removing the wreckage,” a senior officer of West Midnapore police said.
Senior IAF officers said the aircraft took off from Kalaikunda air base in the afternoon.