Indian Navy demo team Kiran crashes

[+ghostrider883 526]

HYDERABAD: A trainer aircraft with the Indian Navy's aerobatics team, Sagar Pawan, crashed into a two-storied building during an air show here on Wednesday the hyderabad aviation show

 

Two naval pilots, Commander S.K. Maurya and Lt Commander Rahul Nair were killed when the HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer crashed, police commissioner A K Khan said.

 

The aircraft, an HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, crashed a couple of minutes before noon in the Bowenpally locality near the old Begumpet Airport in the heart of the city. The police and the fire brigade had difficulty reaching the congested crash site.

 

Four people in the building, a part of which was badly damaged, were injured, as the plane fell on the side of the complex. Two of the injured are believed to be in serious condition and have been shifted to hospital. The debris from the crash fell on a car, crushing it. The building has developed cracks and residents are being evacuated.

 

The planes were showing acrobatic manoeveures when the incident took place. One of the aircraft, part of the navy's aerobatics team that uses four trainers, was unable to pull up from a dive and went into a spiral as the planes were breaking away from the formation and going in different directions. The acrobatics by the planes had begun even as Praful Patel, minister for civil aviation, was talking on the rostrum.

 

Thousands of people were enjoying the spectacle when disaster struck, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air. According to witnesses, the plane crashed into the mobile phone towers on top of the building. They heard a loud boom, after which the plane went down.

 

Said Ashok, who was in his house at the time: "I was inside the house when I heard a loud noise and I came out to see flames."

 

‎ An hour after the crash, Praful Patel addressing a pre-scheduled press conference had no details about the crash. "I hope for the best,” he said. "I can’t give you any information. I have none,” he added.

 

Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport is used for VIP and private flights. The area where the crash occurred falls under the jurisdiction of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board. The crash, however, took place in a civil area under the board.

 

[+Dave 2,322]

RIP

[rotarycrazy 4]

RIP

[+whiteknight06604 934]

Sad News.

[Silverbolt 104]

Sad news

[MigBuster 2,884]

Sorry to hear the news GR

 

Also heard 3 South Korean pilots had died (yesterday?) when their F-5s hit mountains in bad weather.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8544757.stm

 

 

South Korea F-5 fighter jet crash kills three pilots

 

Officials said poor weather could have let to the crash

 

Three South Korean fighter pilots have died after their jets crashed into a mountain during a training mission, defence officials in Seoul have said.

 

The F-5 jets were believed to have hit Mount Hwangbyeong, near Gangneung, about 237km (147 miles) east of Seoul, said the Yonhap news agency.

 

Rescue teams found debris, clothing and body parts on the mountain.

 

The cause of the incident is not yet known, but officials said poor visibility could have been to blame.

 

The jets disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from an airbase in Gangneung.

 

A search and rescue operation was launched but an official later said all three pilots had died.

 

"There is a high possibility that the aircraft crashed due to bad visibility from the foggy weather. We will further investigate the causes," an Air Force spokesman earlier told Yonhap.

 

One witness had reported "a thundering noise and acrid smoke near the mountain's summit".

 

Yoon Heung-joon said he had seen what he believed to be the wreckage of the planes on the mountainside.

 

Yonhap said, if confirmed, the crash would be the seventh involving South Korea's ageing F5 fleet since 2000.

Edited March 3, 2010 by MigBuster

[Nesher 628]

bad days in military aviation in the far east..

<S> to the dead pilots

 

 

[+ghostrider883 526]

Lt Cdr Nair ejected from the aircraft but died . Cdr Maurya almost managed to regain level flight from the horrific near vertical dive that the Kiran went into. May be Cdr Maurya ordered Lt Cdr Nair to eject while he tried desperately to save the aircraft from crashing into the building.

 

TV captures of last moments of the ill fated Sagar Pawan Kiran.

 

Hyderabad, Panaji: Desperate attempts by the two pilots to save the ill-fated Kiran MK-II aircraft of the Indian Navy’s Sagar Pawan aerobatic team went in vain.

 

Commander SK Maurya and Lieutenant Commander Rahul Nair was at the cockpit. According to eyewitnesses, Lt Cmdr Nair made a desperate attempt to eject from the aircraft. Though the parachute opened, it could not take the pilot away from the crash site. He first fell on electric cables and then on the ground and died. Cmdr Maurya died, trapped in the cockpit.

 

“We only saw one pilot dropping down like a stone. We did not even know that there was another pilot in the cockpit. The other pilot’s body was packed in a small box,” eyewitness Ram Kumar told DNA.

 

Eyewitnesses said the aircraft hit an overhead water tank of the building before hitting its top floor.“We were watching helplessly. We saw only the tail hanging out of the building,” another eyewitness said.

 

The death of the two pilots sent shock waves at their base at INS Hansa in Dabolim in Goa. The Sagar Pawan was founded in 2003. This was the first accident in its history.

 

Navy public relations officer MC Joshi told journalists that Commander Maurya from Uttar Pradesh is survived by his wife, while Lt Cmdr Rahul Nair from Delhi is survived by his wife and a five-year-old son.

 

Commander Maurya, 39, had an experience of nearly 1,800 flying hours. Maurya had been in the team for almost six years while Lt Commander Nair, 34, had flown MiG-21 aircraft before, Joshi said.

 

Founding leader of the team, Capt Surendra Ahuja, said the aircraft cannot be called unsafe because of the accident. He said the aircraft will fly soon. A board of enquiry was initiated after the mishap.

Edited March 4, 2010 by ghostrider883

[+Typhoid 231]

[+ghostrider883 526]

video of the crash..

http://cj.ibnlive.in.com/fullvideo/906

[Abhi 3]