JAISALMER: An IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet crashed at Rajmathai village, 170km from Jaisalmer town of Rajasthan on Thursday, killing one of its
pilots. This is the first timethat a Sukhoi-30 MKI, which was inducted into IAF in 2002, has crashed.
According to Wing Commander Tarun Kumar Singha, IAF spokesman, the aircraft took off from Pune on a routine exercise with Wing Commander S V Munje and Wing Commander P S Narah at the controls.
After completing the mission in Pokhran Firing Range in Jaisalmer, the plane was returning to Pune when it developed a technical snag and the pilots lost communication with Air Traffic Control. Defence PRO Lt Col N N Joshi said the crash took place around 10.20am.
The pilots, meanwhile, diverted the plane over an uninhabited area and tried to eject. While the parachute of Munje functioned properly, the parachute of Narah did not open and he fell to his death, said Singha. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident, he said.
Both pilots had good experience in flying fighter aircraft and hence the exact reason behind the crash would be known only after getting the inquiry report, he said. According to sources, the aircraft, which crashed in an agricultural field in Punma Ram Jat Ki Dhani at Hariyasar village, broke into smithereens. The plane caught fire after touching the ground and exploded in a huge ball of fire, they said.
As news of the crash spread, hundreds of people rushed to the spot. Villagers, who brought in a water tanker, tried to put out the fire. India at present operates 60 of these air superiority, 4.5 generation fighters in three of its 33.5 squadrons. While 20 Squadron ‘Lightinings’ and 30 Squadron ‘Rhinos’ are based in Pune, the 24 Squadron ‘Hawks’ are located in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
Being the most potent aircraft in the IAF’s inventory, the Sukhoi-30 has been fielded by the IAF in most of its bilateral and multi-lateral air exercises with foreign air forces. The aircraft had made a mark and had gained a reputation for itself while participating in the prestigious ‘Red Flag’ air exercise of the NATO in Nellis air base of the US Air Force in the later part of 2008.
India has placed a fresh order for 40 more Sukhois with Russia in the wake of the then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi writing to the government in 2006 on the depleting strength of the IAF.
Pilot killed in first Sukhoi-30 crash - India - The Times of India
tsk tsk tsk
Sad to hear about the loss of the life, but this jet is supposed to be India’s pride, what went wrong? Maybe India should consider buying some western battle-proven technology.
Sandhu and Hellraiser…have you gone to hospital and got checked your brains recently..If not do that…Hope, you find the probelm for your mental illness…
And you think thats something to be proud about ??
may be some nasty street kids who throw stone and run away and then brag they scared some.