In a tragic accident, a Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday.
The fighter plane, Su-30 MKI crashed outside the residential area in a farm field near Shirasgaon village. According to Special Inspector General of Nashik Range D R Karale, the plane crashed however, the pilot and co-pilot were ejected safely. The fighter plane was on a training sortie.
The fighter jet was being flown by Wing Commander Bokil and his second in command Biswas as co-pilot during the crash in a farm in Shirasgaon village of Nifad tehsil at 1.20 pm.
Both the pilots ejected safely and have suffered minor injuries, another police official said. After the accident, the injured pilots were shifted to the HAL hospital.
Moreover, another police official said that the exact cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained. However, according to preliminary information, technical factors may have been the reason.
As per IAF sources, Sukhoi was undergoing flight testing post-overhaul and was under HAL's inventory for overhaul and testing purposes. After overhauling and testing, the aircraft are handed back to IAF for further operations, the sources added.
Proe ordered by HAL and IAF
As per the police, the aircraft caught fire after the crash which was doused. The parts of the plane are now spread in a 500 metre radius, he said.
Meanwhile, the teams of Indian Air Force, HAL security and HAL technical unit visited the spo. Both the HAL and IAF have ordered the investigation.
Notably the Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a two-seater, twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturing major Sukhoi and built under licence by HAL for the IAF.
(With PTI Inputs)
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