HYDERABAD: A Kiran Mark 2 trainer aircraft belonging to Indian Air Force from Hakimpet Airforce station crashlanded on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Thursday morning. The pilot in the aircraft escaped unhurt. As it was an isolated place there was no one moving around and none was injured. The aircraft had taken off at around 11.45 am and crash landed 10 minutes later at Ankireddypalli village in Keesara Mandal in adjoining Medchal district located around 35 km away from Hyderabad.Keesara police said the pilot had ejected safely from the aircraft before it crashlanded and he did not suffer any injuries. The teams of Air Force and police rushed to the spot and collected clues from the spot to find out the exact reasons for the crash.
An official communication from Air Force said, “On Thursday morning at around 11.45 am Kiran aircraft which got airborne from Hakimpet Airforce Station of Hyderabad for a routine training mission with a trainee Flight Cadet crashed. The pilot is safe.”Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kushaiguda Division) Syed Rafeeq, said that the pilot identified as Aman Pandey, ejected safely using a parachute. The aircraft crashed around 2 km from the point where the pilot ejected. IAF personnel explained that the pilot was undergoing his first phase of flying training at the Air Force Station. Officials are trying to ascertain the cause of the accident.
PAST INCIDENTS In May 2008,
a Kiran trainer crashed at Dindigul near Hyderabad, when a woman trainee pilot belonging to the Air Force Academy in Dindigul was killed.
In September 2008, a two-seater plane which took off from Begumpet old airport crashed into a colony in Fatehnagar, killing the trainee pilot and his instructor but causing no serious casualties.
In March 2010,
a Kiran Mark II trainer belonging to the Indian Navy crashed into a two-storeyed building in a crowded area during India Aviation 2010 in Begumpet. Two pilots were killed and two other persons on the ground were injured.
CoI will ascertain the cause of the accident: Officials
Soon after the Indian Air Force trainer aircraft, Kiran Mark 4, from Hakimpet Air Force Station crash landed at Ankireddypalli, air force personnel have cordoned off the site. Officials have ordered a court of inquiry(COI) to ascertain the cause of accident. A statement from IAF said that a Kiran aircraft which got airborne from Hakimpet Air Force Station for a routine training mission with a trainee Flight cadet has crashed. “The pilot is safe and shifted for first aid.
We have no information so far from his side and an inquiry will find out the cause of accident,” said an IAF official who visited the site. “The black box will be recovered and examined first. Our team of experts will visit the site and examine various aspects to identity if it was technical error or a human error, a communication failure or an engine failure that has resulted in the accident,” he said. The air craft ruins which is spewn around the place are being identified and recorded. The same will be moved back to Hakimpet Air Force Station by Friday evening. “After the site investigation is complete, further probe will proceed at the AFS,” he added.