Grounding of Sukhoi aircraft by IAF a 'normal occurrence', says former wing commander

Retired Wing Commander Praful Bakshi on Wednesday termed the grounding of the Sukhoi-30 fleet by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a normal occurrence, adding that such action is taken by air forces across the world.

"Grounding of a large number of aircraft in an air force is a serious matter, but it is nothing very unusual. When the grounding of an aircraft takes place, it means that when the users are using the aircraft, they have found something that they think can be improved upon, and if not solved immediately, can affect their performance, safety and operational requirements," Bakshi told ANI.

"Keeping that in mind, air forces around the world have been grounding their fleets of various aircraft, be it fighters, transport planes, even Boeing planes have been grounded. This is a normal phenomenon with military aircrafts around the world," he added.

Bakshi further said that grounded aircrafts can be flown again if the problems that were detected are put right, adding that such an action will not put the defence of the nation at risk.

"The concerned people inspect the aircrafts, rectify the problems, and thereafter the planes are flown again. Sometimes, the grounding of a fleet lasts only for a week or ten days. This action does not mean that the security of the nation is at risk - we have other aircrafts which can take the load," he said.

Earlier in the day, the IAF had grounded its entire fleet of Sukhoi-30 aircraft after a fighter was involved in an incident two weeks ago, in which both ejection seats had fired whilst the aircraft was coming in to land, causing the aircraft to crash about 20 kilometres short of the runway.

A Court of Inquiry (CoI) was formed to investigate the cause of accident, and according to procedure, the flying of the fleet has been temporarily suspended.