A Tejas light combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) sustained major damage to its airframe after it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase following a suspected brake failure earlier this month, authoritative sources said on Sunday. The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely, they said. It is learnt that the aircraft was returning to the base after carrying out a training sortie. There was no official word from the IAF on the accident that took place on February 7. Following the incident, the IAF grounded the entire fleet of around 30 single-seat Tejas jets to carry out an extensive technical scrutiny, the sources said. It was the third accident involving the Tejas jets. The first one took place in March 2024, when a Tejas jet crashed near Jaisalmer. The second incident took place in November 2025, when a Tejas jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow. The latest accident comes at a time when Tejas maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has missed sever