Sukhoi-30 crashes in Assam's Nagaon district, pilots bail out safely

Both the pilots ejected safely and the aircraft crashed at Laokhowa near Tezpur.

FP Staff|May 19, 2015, 15:55:20 IST

Tezpur: A Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft today crashed at Laokhowa in Nagaon district of Assam with both the pilot and co-pilot ejecting safely.[caption id="attachment_127653" align="alignleft" width="380"]

An IAF Sukhoi SU-30 takes off at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore on 11 February 2011. Image courtesy PIB[/caption]The Su-30 fighter aircraft, flying from Tezpur's Salanibari Air Force station on a routine sortie, lostconnection with the radar at the airforce station at around 12.30 pm and crashed thereafter, a defence spokesman said in Tezpur.The aircraft had developed a technical problem and the pilot was forced to abandon the aircraft, he said.Both the pilots ejected safely and the aircraft crashed at Laokhowa near Tezpur.A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the spokesman said. The Sukhoi-30, which is the latest aircraft in the IAF stable of fighter jets, has a reasonably good safety record. In 2011-12, one Sukhoi-30 MK1 crashed, in 2012-13 another one did while in 2013-14 the aircraft saw no accidents. However, there was one more crash in the 2014-15 period. In November last year, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had informed Lok Sabha that the main reasons for the crashes were human error and technical defect.The country also spends a whopping amount in repairs and maintenance of Sukhoi-30. According to information given to Rajya Sabha by Parrikar in December last year, in 2011-12, the IAF had spent Rs 551.35 crore, in 2012-13 it had spent Rs 877.84 while in 2013-14, the exchequer had to bear Rs 834.76 crore for keeping the Sukhoi-30 squadrons in battle-ready conditions.

With PTI input

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