Hungarian Gripen Fighter Jet Crashes, Pilot Ejects Safely

A Hungarian Gripen fighter jet crashed near the town of Szolnok on Monday, with the pilot successfully ejecting from the aircraft, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.

“According to a preliminary report, there were no injuries and there was no harm in civilian infrastructure”, Magyar wrote on Facebook.

The cause of the crash remains unclear, and an investigation is under way. Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi headed to the scene. “The pilot is in an ambulance, he is alive”, the defense minister said in a video posted on Facebook.

Hungary operates 18 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets, based in Kecskemet.

In 2015, a Hungarian Gripen crash-landed in central Hungary due to a technical fault. The pilot ejected, and the aircraft was later repaired.

(Reuters, bak)