A Mirage 2000 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Thursday morning near Madhya Pradesh state's Bhind District.
An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Visuals captured by villagers in Mankabad show the pilot parachuting during the incident as well as debris scattered in an empty field, some 6 km from Bhind.
This is the fifth crash of an IAF aircraft this year; the four others were MiG-21 fighters. The Indian Air Force has planned to phase out its MiG-21 jets by 2024, following the conclusion of the technical life of the jet.
The IAF is facing a shortage of over 200 fighter jets, which it projects it would need to handle the contingencies of a two-front war with China and Pakistan.