A KIRAN trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in an open field at a village in the district on Thursday but the two pilots, including a woman, made it out safely after ejecting from the plane before the crash. District officials said the pilots, identified only as Tejpal and Bhumika, sustained minor injuries. No casualties were reported. No additional details were given by IAF.

The training aircraft, which took off from the air force station in Bengaluru, crashed this morning at Bhogapura village. It was good fortune that aircraft hit the ground on barren land and not in the nearby village, a villager said, adding it would have been catastrophic if the plane had crashed into the village. According to the IAF, the pilots were on a routine training sortie when the incident occurred. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of accident. “A Kiran trainer aircraft of the IAF crashed near Chamrajnagar, Karnataka today, while on a routine training sortie. Both air crew ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the IAF tweeted.