Tejas crash: LCA has 4X better safety record than Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder

The comparison is merited because the LCA Tejas and JF-17 are both lightweight combat aircraft that are meant to form the backbone of their respective air forces and serve in similar combat roles

Indian Air Force's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has a much better safety record than its competitor, the Pakistan Air Force's JF-17 Thunder lightweight combat aircraft, with the JF-17 having suffered four times as many accidents, at least one of which led to loss of life. 

Very similar roles 

Both India's LCA Tejas and Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder are single-engine, lightweight, multirole fighters, which were envisioned as fourth-generation jets that were initially meant to replace their respective nation's ageing third-generation fighters -- the MiG-21 in India's case and a number of Chinese and French jets in Pakistan's.
 

The Tejas has been designed by India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The LCA's maiden flight was successfully completed in 2001, and it was christened Tejas in 2003. In July last year, LCA Tejas completed seven years of service in the Indian Air Force. 

Pakistan Air Force's JF-17 Thunder lightweight combat aircraft. Image credit: Eric Salard (Wikimedia Commons)
 

Across the border, the JF-17 Thunder is a Pakistan-specific version of China's FC-1 Xiaolong, jointly developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. The first test flight of the JF-17 jet fighter's prototype took place at Chengdu, in China, in 2003. The Pakistan Air Force started using the JF-17 in 2010. 

First Tejas crash 

For the first time in its 23-year history since it took to the skies in 2001, an LCA Tejas of the Indian Air Force crashed on March 12 on its way back from the 'Bharat Shakti' tri-services military exercise held at Pokhran, Rajasthan. While the aircraft crashed into a hostel on the outskirts of Jaisalmer, the lone pilot ejected safely. The Indian Air Force issued a brief statement, saying that the jet had crashed during an "operational training sortie". The statement added that "the pilot ejected safely" and "a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident". There was no casualty.  The aircraft, which was on its way back to the Jaisalmer air base, damaged a portion of a hostel building, but agency reports said that there was no loss of human life in the crash. There was no one inside the hostel building at the time of the crash.

Very different safety records 

For its part, the JF-17 Thunder has been involved in four crashes, involving at least one death. According to The Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, JF-17 Thunder crashes have occurred in November 2011, September 2016, September 2020, and August 2021. Business Standard verified this data using Pakistani and other media reports.  

First JF-17 crash 

According to The Express Tribune, an English-language daily based in Pakistan, a JF-17 fighter jet crashed in the Attock district of Pakistan during a routine flight on November 14, 2011. The pilot was killed. The crash took place just a day after the Pakistan Air Force had exhibited JF-17 jets for sale at the Dubai Air Show. An official statement, which did not mention the model of the crashed aircraft, said: "A PAF jet aircraft, while on a routine training mission, crashed due to technical malfunction." 

Second JF-17 crash 

According to The Nation, an English-language daily based in Pakistan, another Pakistan Air Force JF-17 jet crashed into the Arabian Sea on September 27, 2016. The aircraft was reportedly on a routine night mission. While the Pakistani news report said that the pilot had ejected safely, the Aviation Safety Network has said that the pilot involved in the 2016 crash was killed and no ejection took place. It has cited a confirmation from Martin-Baker, a British manufacturer of ejection seats, stating that the first successful ejection from a JF-17 happened in the 2020 crash. Business Standard could not independently verify either claims about the pilot's safety or demise. 

Third JF-17 crash 

A report by Pakistan's Dawn on September 15, 2020, said that a Pakistan Air Force aircraft had crashed in Attock. An official statement said that the incident happened during a routine training mission. It added the pilot had ejected safely and no loss of life or property had been reported on the ground. While the Pakistan Air Force did not identify the crashed aircraft's make, Martin-Baker, whose ejection seats are installed on the JF-17, said in a social media post: "A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 aircraft crashed earlier today during a routine training mission, the pilot ejected successfully. This marks the first JF-17 ejection, an aircraft that's fitted with Martin-Baker PK16LE ejection seats." 

Fourth JF-17 crash   

According to the Dutch Aviation Society's Scramble Magazine, on August 6, 2021, a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 crashed near Attock during a training mission, with both pilots ejecting safely. 

India envisions 'radiant' future for Tejas 

By August last year, all contracted single-seat variants of the LCA Mark 1 had been delivered to the Indian Air Force. Back then, the delivery of the contracted twin-seaters had been assured in the following months, which would bring the total number of Tejas Mark 1's delivered to 40, equivalent to two squadrons. 

In February of 2021, a deal was sealed to procure 83 Tejas Mark-IA jets, an advanced variant of the LCA, for the IAF. In November of 2023, initial approval was accorded for procuring an additional batch of 97 Tejas Mark-IA jets. The LCA Mark-IA will have updated avionics, an active electronically scanned array radar, and an updated electronic warfare suite. An even more advanced version, the LCA Tejas Mark-2, is also under development.