Two Indian Air Force (IAF) frontline combat aircraft crashed on Saturday while conducting a training flight in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena area, killing the wing commander and injuring two other pilots but allowing them to escape safely. Although there was no official statement from the IAF, defence experts claimed it is likely that the French Mirage-2000 and the Russian-designed Sukhoi-30MKI jet collided in mid-air.Officials announced that Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi was the deceased pilot of the Mirage aircraft and that a high-level investigation into the crash has been ordered.
The two Sukhoi jet pilots reportedly managed to eject and were transferred to a military hospital. Sarathi piloted the Mirage-2000, a single-seater aircraft. “This morning, an IAF mishap involving two fighter aircraft occurred close to Gwalior. The aircraft were engaged in routine operational training flight, “IAF issued a succinct statement.”Three pilots were involved, one of whom suffered fatal injuries. To find out what caused the disaster, a probe has been ordered “It read.Nearly four years had passed since a mid-air collision caused two Hawk aircraft of the IAF’s aerobatic squad, Surya Kiran, to crash in Bengaluru.
Rajnath Singh, the defence minister, was briefed on the disaster by Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, the chief of the air staff. “We are devastated by the loss of Wg Cdr Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, a gallant airman who died after being injured in an accident close to Gwalior. My sincere condolences go out to his grieving family. We support his family during this trying time “On Twitter, the defence minister stated.The officials predicted that the recovery of the two aircraft’s flight data recorders will shed some insight on what caused the tragedyThe wreckage from both aircraft, according to Morena Collector Ankit Asthana, fell in the Pahargarh region of the district.
By Bidisha Mohanty
