A Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force caught fire minutes before take off at Ambala air base on Tuesday evening.
Defence sources said a crash crew however, managed to rescue the pilot in time.
The aircraft was in the middle of the runway when the incident took place.
A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered into the accident.
“Today evening at Ambala airfield a Jaguar aircraft aborted take off while getting airborne for a routing night flying mission. The pilot carried out safe quick exit. The aircraft caught fire,” said public relation officer wing commander Anupam Banerjee.
{{/usCountry}}“Today evening at Ambala airfield a Jaguar aircraft aborted take off while getting airborne for a routing night flying mission. The pilot carried out safe quick exit. The aircraft caught fire,” said public relation officer wing commander Anupam Banerjee.
{{/usCountry}}The Ambala air base, which is located along the Chandigarh-Delhi highway, houses fighter planes like Jaguars and MiG 21 (Bison). The air force station has high strategic value as it is close to the India-Pakistan border.
This is not the first time that an accident happened with a Jaguar aircraft at the Ambala air base. A bomb loaded on a Jaguar aircraft was offloaded after the plane developed a technical snag in 2013. The bomb exploded at the Air Force station and its splinters damaged windowpanes of many houses in Baldev Nagar, Dhulkote, Civil Lines and Cantonment area.