New Delhi - A trainee pilot in the Indian Air Force was killed when her jet crashed in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, news reports said Tuesday.

The crash occurred Monday evening near a village in the Medak district, about 100 kilometres north of the state capital, Hyderabad, the Asian Age newspaper reported.

The HPT-32 single-engine aircraft crashed a few minutes after takeoff on a routine training mission from the Air Force Academy in Dindigul.

The cadet, identified as Deepika Sharma, suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, Air Force officials said, adding that there was no damage to property on the ground.

According to the Air Force, this was the third crash of the HPT-32 training craft in the past year and an inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause.

The aircraft is manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

To reduce the number of accidents involving training aircraft, the Air Force recently introduced British-made Hawk trainer jets, but a brand-new Hawk crashed in the neighbouring state of Karnataka a fortnight ago, calling into question Air Force efforts to enhance safety in pilot training. (dpa)