Indain Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30 crashes near Pune, pilots eject safely

A Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the IAF on Tuesday crashed soon after taking off from Lohegaon airbase near here but both the pilots managed to bail out safely.

"Both the pilots flying the aircraft ejected in time and landed safely. They have been evacuated and taken to the

base for medical attention," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Gerard Galway said.

"Both the pilots flying the aircraft ejected in time and landed safely. They have been evacuated and taken to the
base for medical attention," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Gerard Galway said.

The aircraft, which was on a routine mission, had taken off from Lohegaon airbase at 1245 hours. It crashed at 1310 hours, he said.

"A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the crash and an IAF team has been rushed to the site of the wreckage," he said in New Delhi.

A frontline Sukhoi Su-30 jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Pune today but the two pilots bailed out to safety, an officer said.

"Today at around 1.15 p.m. a Sukhoi fighter jet, which took off from the Lohegaon Air Force Base for a sortie, presumably developed a technical snag and crashed," the base commander, Air Commodore V. R. Chaudhry told reporters.

"Two officers - Wing Commander Suhail, who was the pilot and Flight Lieutenant Nautiyal, who was the weapons system operator - ejected out of the aircraft after manoeuvring it over barren land," Chaudhry added.

The aircraft crashed at Wade-Bholai village, 20 kilometres from Pune.

The search for the aircraft's black box is on. The impact of the crash was such that the wreckage was strewn over a of one kilometre radius.

"While the preliminary circumstantial reason could be a technical snag, we are investigating the matter. Both the officers were highly competent. They showed great presence of mind and courage by steering the aircraft towards a safe location and thus avoiding any civilian damage," Chaudhry said.

"Both the officers have been taken to the Command Hospital in Pune," Chaudhary added.

He further said that the land belonged to the Sadhu Vaswani Mission.

The aircraft burst into flames on crashes but seven tenders were pressed into service by various agencies - military and civil - to douse the blaze.

Around 25 policemen from the Lonikhand police post that was closest to the crash site rushed to the spot after being informed by the villagers about an aircraft hurtling towards the ground.

According to the police, the villagers saw the two pilots bailing out of the aircraft and landing in an area named Hargude Vasti, half km ahead of the crash site.

This is the third crash of the Russian origin Su-30 fighter planes since they were inducted into the IAF in 1997.

Today's crash is the eighth mishap involving IAF fighter aircraft this year. Seven MiG series aircraft had crashed earlier this year.

Before the IAF's SU-30 accident, a MiG-21 Bison had crashed in Sirsa in Haryana on December 2. During last three years, the IAF has lost 30 fighter aircraft and 10 helicopters in various crashes.

26 defence personnel including 13 pilots have lost their lives in these crashes along with six civilians on the ground.


Source: Pune - 13 December 2011 - NDTV News (www.ndtv.com) & www.hindustantimes.com

Photo: An Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-MK30I fighter aircraft crashed at Vadebolai near Pune on Tuesday afternoon. The Su-MK30I jet took off from Pune's Lohegaon IAF base around 1245 and crashed at 1:10 pm. (Photo by ndtv.com)

(13.12.2011)