NEW DELHI: A Tejas light combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) sustained major damage to its airframe after it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase following a suspected brake failure on February 7, authoritative sources said on Sunday. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely, reported PTI, quoting the sources. It is learnt that the aircraft was returning to the base after carrying out a training sortie.Following the incident, the IAF grounded the entire fleet of around 30 single-seat Tejas jets to carry out an extensive technical scrutiny. It was the third accident involving the Tejas jets.HAL on Monday in a statement dismissed reports of any ‘major damage’ to a Tejas jet of IAF, calling it a “minor technical incident on ground”.Refuting the earlier reports it said, “HAL acknowledges the recent media reports on the LCA Tejas incident and wishes to provide factual clarification. There has been no reported crash of the LCA Tejas. The event in question was a minor technical incident on ground.” Earlier, it was reported The first one took place in March 2024, when a Tejas jet crashed near Jaisalmer. The second incident took place in November 2025, when a Tejas jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow.The latest accident comes at a time when Tejas maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has missed several deadlines to supply the Tejas Mark 1A variant of the aircraft to the IAF. In February 2021, the Ministry of Defence sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A jets for the IAF. The delivery of the jets is facing delays primarily due to GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for the supply of its aero engines to power the jets.The defence ministry in September last year sealed another deal worth Rs 62,370 crore with HAL to procure 97 Tejas MK-1A light combat aircraft for the IAF.Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. It has been designed to undertake air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike roles.
