By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas fighter aircraft crashed during an aerial display at Dubai Air Show on Friday killing its pilot.
Videos on the social media showed the fighter plane crashing into the ground with a big sound and turning into a ball of fire. “The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident,” an IAF statement said on X. Media reports said firefighting and emergency teams responded quickly and controlled the blaze.
“IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” it said. A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident, the IAF said.
This is understood to be the first accident involving Tejas aircraft which was built indigenously in India.
The Tejas is an Indian single-engine, 4.5 generation, delta wing, multirole combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the IAF and the Indian Navy.
The aircraft made its first flight in 2001 and entered into service with the IAF in 2015. It is the smallest and lightest of the supersonic fighter jets of its generation.