Su-30 MKI goes missing near China border

Loses contact with station 1 hr after take off

 A Su-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with two pilots on-board went missing on Tuesday near the India-China border.

The ground control station lost contact with the combat aircraft an hour after it took off from the Tezpur airbase in Assam.

With no information till late evening, officials at the headquarters fear the worst. An extensive search is on to locate the aircraft and the pilots.

“A Su-30 aircraft, airborne from Tejpur around 10.30 am on a routine training mission lost radar and radio contact approximately 60 km north of Tejpur. The aircraft is overdue and action has been initiated,” IAF sources said. IAF has informed the civil administration regarding an increase of the search net.

However, with sparsely populated hills covered by thick forests all around, it might take some time to find the missing aircraft, an official said.

This is the second such incident involving a Su-30 aircraft in 2017, after a March 15 accident near the Utarlai airbase of Barmer in Rajasthan. That time both pilots had ejected safely.

The Tezpur incident is the eighth crash involving Su-30 MKI fighters in the last eight years.
These mighty birds have been the mainstay of the air force for the past decade. More than 250 Su-30 MKIs are in the service at the moment.

Since 2007–08, the IAF, on an average, has witnessed over seven accidents every year. With 14 accidents, the worst year was 2009–10.