Pune: A Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) today crashed near a village in an open stretch of land while on a routine mission but the two pilots flying it ejected safely.
The plane, which had taken off from IAF`s Lohegaon base near here at 1245 hours, crashed at 1310 hours close to village Wagholi on Pune-Ahmednagar road on an open land of the forest department, Air Force officials said. There was no casualties on the ground.
The pilots -- Wing Commander Suhail and Flight Lieutenant Nautiyal -- managed to eject safely after the plane apparently developed a technical snag and lost contact with the base, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) V R Choudhary, Lohegaon air base, told reporters here. "Both the pilots have been evacuated and taken to the base for medical attention," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Gerard Galway said in New Delhi.
Choudhary said a court of inquiry had been instituted to ascertain the cause of the crash and efforts were on to retrieve the black box of the plane.
The aircraft caught fire after the crash and fire tenders were rushed to help douse the blaze even as police, district officials and IAF personnel rushed to the spot, Pune collector Vikas Deshmukh said.
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 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.
PTI