HYDERABAD: Three pilots, including a woman, ejected safely from a training aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Friday after it burst into flames mid-air and crashed into agricultural fields in Telangana’s Siddipet district.
The aircraft crashed in the fields at Duddeda, on the outskirts of Siddipet. The three pilots landed with the help of parachutes but suffered minor injuries and were shifted to nearby hospital by locals.
Initial reports said the aircraft took off from IAF Station Hakimpet and was on its way to Bidar when it developed a technical snag. Sources said the aircraft went up in flames in the air minutes after the pilots ejected out.
This is the second crash near Hyderabad in the last two months. A Kiran aircraft crashed into the fields in Ankireddypally village on September 28. The aircraft was completely charred, but the pilot ejected safely.
On October 30, a door of a helicopter of the Telangana Aviation Academy detached and fell on a house at Lalaguda in the city. No one was injured.