NEW DELHI: A frontline Sukhoi-30MKI fighter crashed at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan on Tuesday evening. The two experienced pilots, Squadron Leaders G B S Chauhan and A R Tanta, managed to eject safely.
While the court of inquiry will establish the exact reason behind the crash, preliminary reports blamed a "technical snag" for the mishap. The aircraft was undertaking night-flying drills as part of rehearsals for the massive IAF fire power display at the Pokhran range slated for February 22 when the technical problem took place around 7.20 pm.
The over 160 Sukhois inducted by IAF till now — 272 of them have been contracted from Russia in deals worth Rs 55,717 crore - were "temporarily grounded" at Pune, Bareilly, Tezpur, Chabua and other airbases after one had crashed in December 2011. The probe then had blamed the failure of the fly-by-wire (FBW) system for the crash.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne had himself taken to the skies in a Sukhoi within a week to show "all was well" with India's latest and most potent fighters, which are progressively being based on both the western and eastern fronts against Pakistan and China.
The Sukhois, with just four crashes in around 90,000 hours of flying over the last 13 years, have had a good track-record with IAF. But with the bulk of the 272 Sukhois ordered being manufactured by HAL under transfer of technology from Russia, a hard-nosed look at quality, maintenance and servicing issues at the defence PSU is certainly needed.
Sukhoi crashes in Rajasthan, pilots eject safely
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Sukhoi crashes in Rajasthan, pilots eject safely
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Sukhoi crashes in Rajasthan, pilots eject safely
