MiG-21 crash kills pilot

Shimla/New Delhi: A MiG-21 fighter jet crashed in a village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district Wednesday, killing an Indian Air Force pilot, officials said. The aircraft, which was on a routine sortie, crashed at around 1.20 pm, about an hour after taking off from Pathankot air base on a routine sortie, an IAF spokesperson said. Aquadron leader Meet Kumar, who was flying the Russian origin MiG-21 Bis aircraft died in the accident, he said, adding a court of inquiry (COI) has been ordered into it. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed “deep grief” over death of the pilot.