MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - An Indian Air Force (IAF) MIG-27 Flogger ground support aircraft crashed Friday in northwest India, injuring seven civilians on the ground, the Press Trust of India news agency said citing the military.
According to IAF Lt. Col. N. N. Joshi, the plane was on a routine training flight when the accident happened.
"Although the pilot ejected safely at the time of the crash around 08:30 a.m. in the morning, seven people of Konkani village have sustained injuries," the source said.
Known as the Bahadhur (Brave) in the IAF, the MiG-27s form eight operational squadrons. According to the military, a current upgrade program will keep the MiG-27 operational well into the first quarter of the 21st century.
This is the second IAF jet crash, which involved Russian-made aircraft, in two weeks.
An IAF Sukhoi-30MKI crashed on April 30 during a routine training flight near a village 170 km (105 miles) from the town of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, killing one of its two pilots.
