New Delhi: Squadron Leader Lokender Singh Sindhu and Flight Lieutenant Rishi Raj Singh could have ejected from their doomed Jaguar fighter jet in the skies over Churu in Rajasthan on Wednesday afternoon.
Had they done so, the aircraft would have crashed into a village, causing loss to life and property. So they decided to hang on, steering the aircraft towards some vacant land, away from the village.
They did manage, but that was when disaster struck. There was an explosion and the Jaguar disintegrated, its pieces falling across a wide area. Locals rushed to the spot to find the bodies of the two pilots still strapped to their seats.
Thousands had turned up to bid Squadron Leader Sindhu (31) a final farewell in Rohtak, Haryana on Thursday. The braveheart, who became a father just a month ago, was cremated with full military honours.
Flight Lieutenant Singh’s last rites were performed in a similar manner in Pali, Rajasthan. The 23-year-old was new to the Indian Air Force (IAF) but turning out to be a skilled combat pilot when the crash ended everything.
Squadron Leader Sindhu’s brother Gyanender said the family gave him a final salute with a smile, as he died in pursuit of a bigger cause for the country. “I am proud of my brother and the military but there is a need to replace old warplanes with new ones,” he told reporters in Rohtak.
This was the third Jaguar crash in 2025. Three pilots have lost their lives in these crashes. The IAF has six squadrons of these ageing British-French origin deep penetration strike SEPECAT Jaguars. The fleet is being upgraded, officials say but records reveal that there have been at least two crashes every year for the last few years.
If this continues, it won’t be long before the Jaguars are called the ‘flying coffins’.