A Tejas fighter jet crashed during a flying demonstration at the Dubai Air Show on Friday afternoon, killing the pilot and sending a column of black smoke into the sky over Al Maktoum International Airport. The Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the fatality, saying it “deeply regrets the loss of life” and has ordered a court of inquiry to determine the cause.
The single-seat Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, went down around 2:10 pm local time. Eyewitnesses reported that the pilot appeared unable to recover from a negative G-force manoeuvre, a high-risk turn in which forces act opposite to gravity.
The crash occurred during a packed schedule at the biennial Dubai Air Show, one of the world’s biggest aviation events that has witnessed major commercial deals this week. Shocked spectators watched as the aircraft lost altitude during an aerobatic routine before impact.
This is the second Tejas accident in under two years. In March 2024, another jet crashed in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, though the pilot ejected safely. The Tejas, inducted into the IAF in 2016, is a 4.5-generation multi-role fighter central to India’s push for an indigenous combat aviation ecosystem.