Telangana: IAF Trainer Aircraft Crashes in Medak District, Both Pilots Dead

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Pilatus PC 7 Mk-II trainer aircraft crashed in Ravelli village in Toopran of Medak district in Telangana, leaving both the trainee and instructing pilot dead.

The aircraft had taken off from Dundigal Air Force Academy for a routine training sortie.

The IAF took to the microblogging site X and posted about the incident:

IAF has also ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, no damages to civil life or property has been reported yet.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the deaths of the pilots and posted on X saying, “Anguished by this accident near Hyderabad. It is deeply saddening that two pilots have lost their lives. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.”

According to Telangana Today, the aircraft was burnt down to ashes within a few minutes. Meanwhile locals are unsure as to how many people were aboard the IAF aircraft.

PREVIOUS IAF CRASHES

In October, a training aircraft with two persons on board crashed near a village in Maharashtra’s Pune. The pilot and one more person aboard the plane — belonging to a private flight academy — were taken to the hospital.

Prabhakar More, Inspector, Baramati police station told PTI, “A training aircraft belonging to Redbird institute (Redbird Flight Training Academy) crashed near Katfal village under Baramati taluka at around 5 pm. The pilot and one more person, may be the co-pilot, were on board, and they were taken to a hospital.”

Previously in June, a Kiran trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force crashed into an open field in Chamarajanagar district’s Bhogapura village in Karnataka. The two pilots aboard the jet successfully ejected using parachutes and were reported to have landed safely.

IAF had said that a Court of Inquiry had been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.

In May, at least three persons were killed after an Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft near Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, during a routine training sortie.

A statement from the IAF had said, “The aircraft had got airborne for a routine operational training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh. Soon thereafter, the pilot experienced an onboard emergency, following which he attempted to recover the aircraft as per existing procedures. Having failed to do so, he initiated an ejection, sustaining minor injuries in the process. The pilot was recovered from about 25 kilometres North East of Suratgarh base.” It added that it regrets the loss of lives and offered its deepest condolences.

(With PTI inputs)