GUWAHATI: Two Indian Air Force pilots were killed as an aircraft crashed in Majuli river island district of Assam on Thursday, a defence source informed.
The microlight aircraft crashed soon after it took off from the Rowriah air base of Indian Air Force (AIF) in Jorhat around 1.30 pm on a routine sortie.
The wreckage of the two-seater plane has been sighted and a court of inquiry ordered, the officials said.
Tezpur-based defence spokesperson Lt Col Harshvardhan Pande informed that the two pilots killed in the crash were identified as Wing Commander Jai Paul James and Wing Commander D Vats.
The pilots attempted an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed at a sand bar in the northern part of the district and caught fire.
The crash took place at Dorbar Chapori in Majuli isle in the bosom of Brahmaputra.
People from nearby villages spotted the aircraft going up in flames and informed the district authorities.
IAF personnel from the 10 Wing Air Force Station in Jorhat rushed to the spot while police and senior officials of the district also visited the crash site which has to be reached by boat.