sudhir007
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HAL-made Sukhoi crashes
Barely a week after President Pratibha Patil undertook a much publicised sortie in the fighter, a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Jethagaon in Jaisalmer while returning from a regular training mission. While both pilots managed to eject on time and landed safely, the second crash of India’s most advanced fighter jet in less than eight months has thrown a question mark over its reliability.
IAF PRO Group Captain M G Mehta on Monday said, “The aircraft was on a routine training exercise when the incident occurred and both pilots managed to eject to safety. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.” He added that the fighter crashed into a vacant plot of land and caused no loss of life or destruction to property.
Rajasthan defence PRO Lt Col. N N Joshi stated that the Sukhoi aircraft took off from Jodhpur at around 4.30 pm at the IAF range in Pokharan but crashed sometime between 5.30 pm and 5.45 pm. While officials reached the site of the crash, the black box has not yet been recovered. Sources said that the entire Sukhoi fleet, which numbers close to 90 and is currently deployed in Pune, Bareily and Tezpur, has been grounded till a preliminary investigation gives an all clear following the crash. Sources also said that the aircraft that crashed was a brand new fighter that had recently been rolled out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India and was part of an upcoming squadron in Pune.
This is the second crash of a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter after a fatal accident on April 30 in which an officer lost his life. The fleet was grounded for close to a month after the April crash and sources said that the fighters are likely to stay on the ground till investigators give a go ahead.
The Sukhoi-30 MKI fleet, the latest in IAF’s inventory, has had an exceptional safety record but the two recent crashes have caused concern in military circles. The earlier crash, which was attributed to a failure in the flight control system, was never conclusively investigated as the black box was completely destroyed.
In July, Defence Minister AK Antony had said that while there are no serious maintenance problems with the aircraft, the fleet was grounded for three weeks to ascertain the cause of the crash. He also revealed that the reason for the crash was a “likely failure of the fly-by-wire system”. This came after Russian experts tried to put the blame for the crash on the IAF by saying that a human error led to the accident.
HAL-made Sukhoi crashes IDRW.ORG
Barely a week after President Pratibha Patil undertook a much publicised sortie in the fighter, a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Jethagaon in Jaisalmer while returning from a regular training mission. While both pilots managed to eject on time and landed safely, the second crash of India’s most advanced fighter jet in less than eight months has thrown a question mark over its reliability.
IAF PRO Group Captain M G Mehta on Monday said, “The aircraft was on a routine training exercise when the incident occurred and both pilots managed to eject to safety. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.” He added that the fighter crashed into a vacant plot of land and caused no loss of life or destruction to property.
Rajasthan defence PRO Lt Col. N N Joshi stated that the Sukhoi aircraft took off from Jodhpur at around 4.30 pm at the IAF range in Pokharan but crashed sometime between 5.30 pm and 5.45 pm. While officials reached the site of the crash, the black box has not yet been recovered. Sources said that the entire Sukhoi fleet, which numbers close to 90 and is currently deployed in Pune, Bareily and Tezpur, has been grounded till a preliminary investigation gives an all clear following the crash. Sources also said that the aircraft that crashed was a brand new fighter that had recently been rolled out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India and was part of an upcoming squadron in Pune.
This is the second crash of a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter after a fatal accident on April 30 in which an officer lost his life. The fleet was grounded for close to a month after the April crash and sources said that the fighters are likely to stay on the ground till investigators give a go ahead.
The Sukhoi-30 MKI fleet, the latest in IAF’s inventory, has had an exceptional safety record but the two recent crashes have caused concern in military circles. The earlier crash, which was attributed to a failure in the flight control system, was never conclusively investigated as the black box was completely destroyed.
In July, Defence Minister AK Antony had said that while there are no serious maintenance problems with the aircraft, the fleet was grounded for three weeks to ascertain the cause of the crash. He also revealed that the reason for the crash was a “likely failure of the fly-by-wire system”. This came after Russian experts tried to put the blame for the crash on the IAF by saying that a human error led to the accident.
HAL-made Sukhoi crashes IDRW.ORG
