Indian Air Force jet catches fire and crashes after refuelling at Biju Patnaik Airport

December 22, 2007 A jet trainer belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) caught fire during takeoff from Biju Patnaik Airport in Orissa after refuelling and crashed. The pilot escaped unharmed.

The aircraft was one of four flying from Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal to Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. They had made a scheduled stop at Biju Patnaik for refuelling. After this was completed, three of the aircraft successfully took off and continued, but the fourth caught fire and crashed on the runway at about 11:30 a.m. IST (UTC+5:30).

The aircraft was a Surya Kiran aerobatics demonstration team display jet.

The pilot ejected from the aircraft and was uninjured, whilst the aircraft was attended by Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicles.