Bhubaneswar, March 20:  Indian Air Force (IAF)'s Hawk aircraft on Tuesday crashed in Odisha's Mayurbhunj district. The Hawk - an advanced trainer jet crashed near the Jharhkhand border after taking off from Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal. As per reports by TOI, the pilot of the IAF plane is reported injured.

As per reports by ANI, the trainee pilot flying the aircraft ejected safely. It was informed that the aircraft was on a routine training sortie. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the accident, said the sources.

The crash comes after a month when a Microlight Virus SW-80 helicopter of the IAF crashed in Assam's Majuli island. In this deadly accident, two pilots Wing Commander J James and Wing Commander D Vats were killed.

A similar incident occurred in February where two Indian Air Force pilots were killed in a crash in Majuli. The deadly incident happened minutes after their microlight aircraft took off on a routine sortie, defence ministry officials said.

As per PTI reports, the plane crashed in the river island around noon, soon after taking off from the Jorhat air base, they said. The pilots killed in the crash were wing commander J. James and wing commander D. Vats.

“An Indian Air Force Microlight Virus SW-80 crashed around 1200 hrs today, after getting airborne from Air Force Station Jorhat, for a routine sortie,” the defence ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the ministry said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2018 02:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).