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The Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), suffered yet another setback as the prototype version of the aircraft crashed in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, after taking off from HAL Airport in Bangalore on Thursday afternoon.
The mishap, which is the third involving the IJT, occurred when the prototype aircraft S-3466 on a routine flight test crashed at Kelamangalam, near Lakshmipuram Village in Hosur taluk of Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu at 3.10 pm with both the pilots on-board ejecting safely.
The aircraft was piloted by group captain Mathur of the National Flight Test Centre and wing commander Patra of Air Force Technical College.
No loss of civilian life or property was reported when the aircraft crashed in a forest area.
HAL chairman, Ashok Nayak, said that during the test flight, the pilots may have performed an unintended difficult manoeuvre and could not recover from it due to which they lost control and ejected.
HAL has constituted a court of inquiry, as is the case in such occurrences. The pilots were airlifted from the crash mishap site and directly taken to HAL Hospital in Bangalore to be kept under observation.
The flight data recorder of aircraft has been recovered by the search and rescue teams and the data is expected to be retrieved in a couple of days, said HAL officials.
The IJT flights tests on Thursday were part of the aircrafts pursuit to attain the much-awaited Initial Operational Clearance which HAL intends to get by June so IAF can test the craft before its induction for training rookie pilots.
The two-seater IJT, a sub-sonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft, is expected to replace the depleting HJT-16 Kiran fleet in its role as a stage II trainer in the IAF and also be part of the famed Surya Kiran aerobatics team in the future.
During the Aero India 2007, the prototype version of IJT swerved off the runway just as the pilot was getting airborne. This caused damage to the aircraft. Again, in February 2009, the second prototype of the aircraft landed on its belly.
