An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot, Wing Commander Namesh Syal, was killed in a Tejas Mark-1 fighter aircraft crash at the Dubai Air Show today.

This is the second crash involving the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) in the past 19 months. In March last year, a jet had crashed at a tri-services exercise near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

In today’s incident, the pilot was executing a “barrel roll”, a low-flying manoeuvre, when the aircraft plunged to the ground and erupted into a fireball. Reports said the pilot tried to stabilise the jet, but could not eject in time.

The IAF, in a statement, said: “The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident. The IAF deeply regrets the loss of life. A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.”

At air shows, jets p

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