Jas-39 crashed in North of Sweden

A single seat Jas 39C Gripen has crashed while exercising with ground troops of the Anti Aircraft regiment LV6 in the north of Sweden. The accident happened at the Vidsel Test range 100km from the town of Luleå. The aircraft caught fire while on approach to the airbase at Vidsel and the pilot ejected successfully. The pilot has been brought to hospital as a precaution but its thought that he is ok. The aircraft belonged to the F21 Fighter wing in Luleå

Update 20th april – It now seems that the Jas 39C that crashed yesterday was caused by an involuntary activation by the ejections seat. The pilot told investigators that during the approach to the runway at the Vidsel airbase the aircraft system activated the ejection system without any input from the pilot. This has now led a full stop of any flying with the Jas 39 C/D aircraft until further notice. All 53 C/ D aircraft are grounded

This is the 5th crash of Gripen since its first flight 18 years ago and it’s the 3rd crash since its introduction into the Swedish air force.

Source – Aftonbladet