In yet another crash in IAF, a
Jaguar strike fighter went down near the
Gorakhpur airbase in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday afternoon. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant S Pandey, and an 18-year-old girl working in an agricultural field were killed in the incident, which occurred about 50-km south-east of the Gorakhpur airbase.
This accident comes barely two days after a
MiG-21 crashed at the Nal airbase in Rajasthan on Tuesday, killing its 24-year-old pilot, Flying Officer Suraj Pillai.
Latest statistics show IAF has recorded just over 1,000 aircraft crashes since 1970, with ``aircrew error'' and ``technical defects'' being responsible for 40% each of the accidents. The rest are attributed to ``servicing errors'', bird hits and the like. MiG-21s were the largest contributor to this staggering crash-rate.
The latest crash took place at about 12.15 pm on Thursday when Flight Lieutenant Pandey's Jaguar went down, while on a routine flying mission.
The jet crashed in a field in Dilahi Firozpur village, killing both the pilot and the girl, identified as Ruma, on the spot. Two other women working in the field were apparently also injured. ``A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident,'' said an IAF official.
Unlike the more notorious MiG-21s, Jaguars have had a relatively better safety track-record over the last several years. The last Jaguar crash took place near the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat in 2007.
Jaguars, however, have been dogged by concerns over their air-unworthiness and tardy serviceability. Manufactured by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) after the first 40 were inducted directly from the
UK in the early-1980s, IAF has around 100 Jaguars in four strike and one maritime Jaguar squadrons. Since their induction, over 40 Jaguars have crashed, killing at least 15 pilots.
In the past, IAF has lodged strong complaints with HAL over the Jaguars' low serviceability, low reliability of components, delay in repairs and non-availability of spares and locally-repairable units (LRUs).
There have also been engine problems. For instance, a ``low-thrust'' problem was reported on about 10% of the
Rolls-Royce manufactured Adour engines, which power the Jaguars, in 2002 after some crashes.
after a major dip in the crash rate around 2003-2006, the armed forces are again grappling with a high crash rate. Over the past three years, there have been over 65 crashes of fighters, transport aircraft and helicopters. More than 60 military personnel, apart from several civilians, have been killed in these crashes.
