In what can be described as a ‘black day’ for the Indian Air Force (IAF), two frontline fighters collided on Saturday morning after taking off from the Gwalior-based Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), killing one while two pilots were declared safe.
The two fighters—a Sukhoi 30 and a Mirage 2000—of Russian and French origin respectively, collided over Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district while debris of one of the aircraft, believed to be that of the Su 30, was found about 100 km away in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district.
IAF sources said the two aircraft were on a routine training sortie. Both were flown by experienced pilots as they were all from TACDE which is known as the school of IAF’s ace pilots, they said.
It is believed that the Su 30 pilots survived the crash and ejected before the aircraft crashed in Bharatpur.
An IAF tweet said: “The IAF deeply regrets to inform that Wg Cdr Hanumanth Rao Sarathi suffered fatal injuries during the accident. All air warriors and the fraternity stand strongly with the bereaved family.”
The exact details of what led to the collision and the subsequent crash will be known after the Court of Inquiry (CoI) conducts its investigation.
In air sorties and exercises, distances are stipulated between aircraft that fly together in formations.
An IAF source told THE WEEK on condition of anonymity: “While the possibility of a mid-air collision cannot be ruled out, it will be known only after the CoI submits its findings.”
“The safety margin or how close the aircraft can be to each other is determined by several factors like the type of aircraft, the speed and the size of the aircraft,” the source added.
While the Mirage 2000 is an average-sized fighter, the Su 30 is a much bigger aircraft.
The Mirage 2000 is a single-engine, single-seater fighter with only the trainer variant being twin seaters, while the Su 30 is a twin-engined, twin-seater fighter.
Mid-air collisions (MAC) are not a rarity in IAF’s history. In its more than seven decade long history, the IAF has lost at least 64 aircraft and 39 pilots to MACs.
The last known MAC took place on February 19, 2019, when two jets from the IAF’s Suryakiran aerobatic team collided during a practice session a day ahead of the Aero India show at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru.
