Entire Sukhoi fleet grounded after Monday crash
The entire fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) frontline fighter jets Sukhoi-30 MKI has been grounded following a crash Monday, an official Wednesday said.
“The Sukhoi fleet has been grounded for preliminary checks required after any crash. The fleet will be airborne as and when the mandatory checks are complete,” said an IAF spokesperson.
The Sukhoi-30 MKI, belonging to 31 Squadron based at the IAF station in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, crashed southwest of Pokhran in Rajasthan at 5.30 p.m. Monday. The pilots ejected in time and survived.
This was the second crash of a Sukhoi jet since its induction into the force 12 years ago.
In April, a Sukhoi crashed in Rajasthan due to the failure of its sophisticated fly-by-wire system.
The Su-30 was inducted in 1996. The IAF fleet currently has 98 such aircraft. This number will rise to 230 by 2015.
The IAF has suffered 13 crashes this year. These have included two Sukhois, six MiGs, a Kiran MkII trainer, a HPT-32 trainer aircraft, an AN-32 transport aircraft and two helicopters.
