"The engine caught fire shortly after the aircraft took off from the Halwara air base in Ludhiana district of Punjab," Indian Air Force spokesman, Squadron Leader R.K. Dhingra, told AFP.

Once the Russian-made MiG-23 aircraft went out of control, the pilot decided to eject. The injured pilot has been taken to a hospital.

Dhingra said the aircraft debris fell on two houses in an area near the Halwara base, nearly 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Delhi.

The houses caught fire and three people were critically injured. The spokesman said victims' families would be compensated by the airforce.

The Indian Air Force, the world's fourth largest, has been plagued by mishaps, particularly with its ageing fleet of MiG aircraft.

Official figures show at least 221 MiGs, worth tens of millions of dollars, were lost in crashes between 1991 and 2000, killing about 100 Indian pilots.

A high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister George Fernandes in November decided to phase out the ageing MiG-21 fleet.

SPACE.WIRE