Pilot killed after Indian fighter jet crashes at Dubai air show

[Smithy]

The Indian HAL Tejas jet crashed during a demonstration flight, killing the pilot.
The Indian HAL Tejas, a combat plane used by the Indian Air Force, crashed at around 2.10pm local time (10.10am UK time), at Al Maktoum International Airport.

The lone pilot was killed.

Video footage of the aftermath of the crash showed black smoke rising over the airport, which was hosting a biennial air show.
The plane appeared to lose control and plummeted directly towards the ground just before crashing.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/plane-crashes-at-dubai-air-show-13473492

 

[Yvonne Smith]

This is a really bad crash, and the video looks like the plane just stopped flying and went straight down and then exploded. I have not seen any information on what caused the crash, but it is probably too soon for them to know that yet. It sounds like the pilot was not able to eject since it said one perished, so it must have happened too fast for the pilot to do anything. This news must have come out before they learned the pilot was killed in the crash.

 

[Don Alaska]

The Indian fighters didn't fare well against the ones used by Pakistan in the recent conflict between the two nations. I had been told that India used mainly French-made fighters, but maybe India is trying to get their own aircraft industry going and is having trouble. The Pakistani jets were reportedly mostly made in China. It could be aircraft issues or pilot training or some combination of both.