New Delhi, Nov 08: Defence minister George Fernandes met senior IAF commanders today to discuss maintenance and upkeep of India`s fighter aircraft after the fatal crash of a UK-made Jaguar earlier this week, an official said.
"The meeting was called to discuss the maintenance and upkeep problems of aircraft," the defence ministry official said. "The minister and Air Force officers are expected to discuss steps which will bring down the incidence of crashes," he added.

On Tuesday, a Jaguar jet crashed into a residential area during a training flight near Ambala, killing nine people. The black box of the aircraft, which was expected to throw light on the cause of the crash, had been recovered, a report said.
The IAF, reeling under the impact of a string of crashes, including a fatal mid-air collision between two Ilyushin-38 naval spy planes, last month announced it was planning to upgrade its crash-plagued Air Force.
Air chief S Krishnaswamy had said that the 1,200-aircraft IAF would be updating its strike force with new aircraft, helicopters and radar.
Bureau Report