Kiran copter crashes, cadet bails out

A woman cadet escaped with minor injuries  when an Indian Air Force trainer aircraft of the Kiran class from the Hakimpet Air force Station on a training sortie crashed near Duddeda of Kondapaka block of Siddipet district in Telangana on Friday.

Parts of the aircraft, which totally disintegrated midair, fell over a large area near the under-construction district collectorate and burned to ashes.

Initial reports say that there were three occupants in the helicopter at the time of accident.

However, the cadet, Raasi R, bailed out with the help of a parachute.

Locals who gathered at the spot called  an  ambulance and she has been shifted to Hyderabad for medical care.

Eye witnesses said that there was loud explosion, and when they came out looking, they saw smoke and burning pieces of the aircraft everywhere.

"The preliminary information reaching us says the aircraft with a woman cadet took off from Hakimpet airbase for routine training and crashed within minutes. The woman cadet is safe and is undergoing treatment", a defense spokesperson in Hyderabad said.  

A defense release confirming the incident said, "Today afternoon about 1400 hrs one IAF Kiran aircraft on a routine training mission crashed around 50 km from Air Force Station, Hakimpet, Hyderabad. The trainee pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause".

This is the second crash in the last two months.

On 28 September, a trainer aircraft (Kiran) from Hakimpet Air Force Station crashed in Keesara village about 80 km from here.

The Kiran aircraft, airborne from Hakimpet for a routine training mission with a trainee flight cadet, crashed  but the pilot was safe.

The aircraft which started from the Hakimpet airbase crashed within ten minutes after reportedly developing a technical snag. It caught flames and completely burnt.

On 30 October, a door of a helicopter of the Telangana Aviation Academy detached and fell on a house at Lalaguda. No one was hurt.