A Sukhoi-30 crashes in Assam, pilots eject safely

mangaloretoday.com

Assam, May 19: A Sukhoi-30 crashed at Laokhowa in Nagaon district of Assam on Tuesday and both pilots ejected safely.

The fighter aircraft, flying from Tezpur’s Salanibari Air Force station on a routine sortie, lost contact with the radar at the air force station at around 12.30pm and crashed thereafter, a defence spokesman said.

 

The aircraft had developed a technical problem and the pilots were forced to bail out, he said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the crash, he added.

Last year, a Su-30 had crashed at the Lohegaon Airbase near Pune.

In another incident, two pilots inexplicably ejected while taxiing before take-off in Jodhpur.

In 2008, an airman conducting ground tests on the Su-30 was killed in Bareilly, when the ejection seat fired from the aircraft.

India has a contract for 272 Sukhoi Su-30 jets from Russia, most of which are being made at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under a license from a Russian firm.