An Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday, a witness and officials told AFP.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas jet crashed at about 2:10pm local time.
✈️ The Indian Air Force has officially confirmed the crash of its Tejas fighter jet and the loss of its pilot at the Dubai Air Show.
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) November 21, 2025
Videos circulating on social media showed the aircraft going down at speed and bursting into a ball of flames on impact as onlookers watched in shock. A plume of smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it.
The incident happened on the last day of the Middle East’s biggest airshow, which features a flying display each afternoon. Hundreds of people were watching from a grandstand, while the apron was packed with planes, helicopters and other hardware on static display.
Terrible news of India’s Tejas crashing at the Dubai Air Show. No ejection by the pilot seen… a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching scene.
It’s painful to watch our flagship fighter keep facing such incidents while the Modi government focuses more on PR than on genuinely strengthening… pic.twitter.com/6DDmfDd62l
— Tejasswi Prakash (@Tiju0Prakash) November 21, 2025
In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the death of the pilot in the incident.
“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,” said the post.
“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,” it added.
Footage of the crash showed the fighter executing a low roll before crashing in flames about a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the show site.
#BREAKING: Photo captured by a foreign visitor at Dubai Air Show of Pakistan’s JF-17, Indian Tejas crash in background. pic.twitter.com/AmLkApyzv9
— Ironclad (@NavCom24) November 21, 2025
‘Oil leak’ controversy
Earlier this week, social media was abuzz with posts claiming that the Indian fighter jet was ‘leaking oil’ while parked on the tarmac. Pictures showed shopping bags placed beneath the Tejas to collect the leaking liquid.
Some posts claimed the leak continued on the second day of the international air show. However, there was no official comment on the topic by the Indian government or the armed forces.
We kept warning about the oil leak and the glaring maintenance failures but everything was brushed aside.
Today’s Tejas crash is not an accident it is the exact outcome of negligence wrapped in overconfidence.#Tejas #DubaiAirShow #India pic.twitter.com/X9dEvl3o0f
— South West Defender (@SW_Defender) November 21, 2025
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India, in a post, claimed that it was a “routine draining process, not a technical malfunction”.
The bureau added that it was part of the “standard pre-flight procedure to remove condensation, which naturally forms as part of the aircraft’s cooling system”.
The Tejas, meaning “brilliance” in Hindi, is a domestically designed and built fighter jet that was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 2016. The Tejas has been beset by design and other challenges and was once rejected by the Indian Navy as too heavy.
The biennial airshow is being held at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport from November 17-21.
The show, according to its website, brought together over 1,500 exhibitors, 200 aircraft across flying and static displays, 12 conference tracks, and 450 global visionaries.
This is the second known crash of the fighter jet, which is powered by General Electric (GE) engines. The first crash was during an exercise in India in 2024.
The Tejas Mk-1A fighters are crucial for India’s efforts to bolster its air force’s depleting fighter squadrons and replace ageing jets in the face of China’s growing military strength and support for arch-rival Pakistan.
The rollout of the fighter has been delayed due to slow deliveries from GE of 99 engines ordered in 2021, of which only four have arrived so far. GE has blamed supply chain issues following Covid-19.