Dubai Airshow 2025: Indian Air Force Tejas Mk1 crashes during display

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas Mk1 crashed while performing an aerobatic display at the Dubai Airshow on 21 November 2025. The pilot did not eject.

Following the crash, which happened around 14.10 local time at Al Maktoum International Airport, the IAF published a statement in its X social media ccount that read, “An IAF Tejas aircraft met with an accident during an aerial display at Dubai Air Show, today. The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident. IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief. A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident.”

Prior to the crash there was something of an online debate underway on X regarding a pool of fluid photographed under the IAF Tejas in Dubai – with some observers claiming it was oil, while another, who stated that he was an aerospace engineer, asserting that the leak was jet fuel or hydraulics.

However, reviewing online video footage of the Tejas crash, the cause might well have been pilot error; the aircraft had performed a barrel roll and simply did not appear to have the altitude to pull out from that manoeuvre.

The Tejas, which is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, made its first flight on 4 January 2001, with the production combat variant Tejas Mk1 delivered to the IAF from January 2015.

A Tejas Mk1 was previously lost in a crash on 12 March 2024 while taking part in an exercise in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan. On that occasion the pilot ejected safely.