Sad news guys, RIP to Wg Cdr P.S. Narah and the condition of Wg Cdr Munje is said to be stable.

I note that there was a report that the initial batches of India's SU-30s also experienced a high rate of engine failure and a host of other issues. I also understand that a court of inquiry has been ordered.

Ouch.. my condolences. I hope it's not maintenance issues that were the problem.

then again, both crew were very senior guys whom one might expect to have relatively high hours on the aircraft - although the MKI hasn't been in IAF service for very long.

actually I'm quite surprised that despite ejecting they received injures...any idea what might have happened?

Ejection from a fast moving jet can be a very traumatic experience for the pilots' bodies. There are cases where they passed out after ejection.

Further more they may have ejected while too near the ground for the chute to open fully, causing a hard landing.

There is an Indian air force article on Ejection Seat Design if you are interested in more details on possible injuries caused by 0-0 ejection seats (K-36D) found in the SU-30.

isnt the K36D one of the best ejector seats available out there ?

i vaguely recall a documentary that talked about how the west actually bought a few examples of the K36D post cold-war and tried to figure out why it was so good.

I only mentioned as I recall during the 1989 Paris Air Show, an aerial display by a pair of Mig-29s ended up in a collision...apparently the collision was near the ground but people were impressed that the K-36D managed to eject the pilot clear off the ground and away from the wreckage quickly and swiftly...

hence my curiousity: anyone has any details as to why, despite having such a good ejection seat, the circumstances still resulted in casualties? thats all :D i tried finding online but not much info...

If I am not wrong, the ejection seat chute failed...

Condolences to the pilots' families....


So much for the vaunted latest generation of Russian jet fighters......

Its a dangerous job up there, even flying high tech western jets doesn't make it any safer....

Think the Indian AF would ponder seriously over their choice of jets they are supposedly getting (currently under selection process)...its true western jets have less history of crashes...at least those that are currently being offered....

There is more details from www.indianexpress.com, assuming you can trust this report:

"...While a detailed court of inquiry has been ordered into the accident, the first ever for the MKI version of the Su 30 that was inducted in 2002, fresh details have emerged about the crash that practically rule out pilot error. Sources familiar with the investigation say that the fighter, which was flying as part of a four-aircraft group at over 20,000 feet, went into an involuntary ‘bunting’ manoeuver that tossed it around at an angle of 270 degrees. Following the violent manoeuver, the fighter plummeted to the earth in an uncontrollable spin and did not respond to controls, forcing the two pilots to eject. An official said that this could point to either a technical fault or some sort of structural damage to the fighter.

However, IAF officers are confident that the fighter will take to the skies soon after the inspection checks are carried out. “The Su 30 MKI is one of the most reliable fighters we have. It has had a great safety record but accidents happen. Even the most advanced American F 22 Raptor has suffered two crashes,” a senior officer said."

There is a report on the Hindu on the IAF taking steps to prevent another SU-30MKI crash. Generally, I trust the Indian press NOT to get the details correct. However, this report is so incredible (the implication of the report, if true, means that the IAF is incompetent) - I thought I should share it with you guys and see what you think.

Ergonomics was never one of the strong points of Russian fighter designs... And this incident proves just how costly inattention to such details can be.

I wonder if RMAF's SU-30MKM is going to be affected by this accident in anyway.

I'm sure the Malaysians will be following this incident closely, and learning lessons from it.

CNA

Sorry didn't know where to put this and didn't want to start a new thread.

Since our F-16 C/D Block 52+ is very similar to that of the IAF's, will ours be grounded for inspections?

Understood from another source - Alert5 - that the plane was a F16A.....older version I suppose, which the IAF still uses for training....according to the report quoted from an Israeli newspaper, the pilot had also suffered another mechanical issue in another training onboard a Skyhawk A4 (which he had a trainer as co-pilot)...both did not eject but succeeded in rectifying the issue and landed the plane safely.....

What a waste as he had graduated at the top of his course....

Condolences to the family....

Another brilliant life snuffed out just like that...may he rest in peace...

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/76877.htm

IAF Sukhoi crashes in Rajasthan, pilots safe (Lead)
November 30th, 2009 SindhToday

New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) In the second accident involving the frontline Sukhoi-30MKI of the Indian Air Force (IAF) this year, one of the Russian-origin combat jets crashed Monday near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, but both the pilots ejected in time, an official said.

The aircraft, which took off from Bareilly airbase, was participating in a fire power demonstration.

“The aircraft crashed during an ongoing exercise. Both the pilot and the co-pilot are safe,” an IAF official told IANS, requesting anonymity.

The official refused to divulge more information.

This was the second crash of the Sukhoi combat jet since its induction 12 years ago. In April, a Sukhoi had crashed in Rajasthan due to the failure of its sophisticated fly-by-wire system. The pilot, Wing Commander S.V. Munje, and the co-pilot, Wing Commander P.S. Narah, had managed to bail out in time but the latter was killed after being apparently hit by the falling debris of the aircraft.

The Su-30 was inducted in 1996 and the IAF fleet currently has 98 such aircraft. This will rise to 230 by 2015.

Of the Su-30s in the IAF fleet, some were bought in flyaway condition from its Russian manufacturer while state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured the others under licence. It was not clear which category the crashed jet belonged to.

The Su-30 has won universal acclaim from the air forces of the US, Britain and France whenever it has been fielded against them in war games. Eight Su-30s had participated in the prestigious Red Flag exercise with the US Air Force at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, last year and had more than held their own against their counterparts’ F/A-18 and F-16 combat jets.

crashed doing a firepower demo? that's gotta suck...

It actually sounds like a hell of a firepower demonstration! =D

It sounds like the plane is a flying bomb itself.. :lol:

Well all sophisticated modern jets have suffered some technical issues that cause crashes..... that's why pilots are paid higher for the greater risks they take on.....only thing is that Russian stuff tends to have abit more of such issues and as such over time biasness take root....but in certainty, their stuff do have more problems than their western counterparts.....

Good that the pilots managed to eject.....