IAF Sukhoi, Mirage Crash: Experts Say Mid Air Collision Possible, Wing Commander Dies | What We Know

Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi died after two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district on Saturday. Besides, two other pilots ejected safely and were taken to a military hospital, they said. The Mirage-2000, which is a single-seater jet, was flown by Sarathi.

Defense experts have now indicated that the collision might have been taken place mid-air, but there was no official comment on it from the IAF, which has ordered a high-level probe into the fatal accident.

“Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission,” the IAF said in a brief statement. “One of the three pilots involved sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident,” it said.

Here’s What We Know So Far About the Accident:

• The debris of both aircraft fell in the Pahargarh area of the district. Some debris also fell in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, which borders MP, a PTI report quoted Morena Collector Ankit Asthana as saying.
• Two pilots survived the crash and the body parts of another were found in the Pahargarh area.
• Earlier on Saturday, Bharatpur Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh had said an aircraft crashed in an open field in the Ucchain area. Locals were the first to reach the site where the debris from one of the aircraft fell.
• Defence experts said it is probable that the Russian-designed Sukhoi-30MKI jet and the French Mirage-2000 had a mid-air collision.
• Aviation historian Anchit Gupta tweeted that mid-air collisions (MAC) are not that uncommon and at least 64 aircraft and 39 pilots have been lost in MAC in the last more than 70 years in India.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in a tweet, said: “The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kolaras in Morena is very sad.”
• Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he was saddened to hear about the unfortunate crash involving the two fighter jets and wished the injured pilots a speedy recovery.
• According to IAF, the aircrafts were on a routine operational flying training mission. “One of the three pilots involved sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident,” the IAF said.

(With PTI Inputs)

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