IAF's Sukhoi fighter jet crashes in Nashik; pilot, co-pilot eject safely

A Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday, police said, adding the pilot and co-pilot ejected safely.

They have been taken to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) hospital for further treatment, Special Inspector General of Nashik Range D R Karale told PTI.

The Su-30 MKI plane crashed in a field near Shirasgaon village of Nifad tehsil, the IPS officer said. The fighter jet was being flown by Wing Commander Bokil and his second in command Biswas when it crashed at 1.20 pm.

The pilots have suffered minor injuries and were being treated at the HAL hospital. After it crashed, the aircraft caught fire which was doused. Upon impact, some parts of the plane were scattered over a 500 metre radius, police said.

Teams of Indian Air Force and HAL's security and technical wings visited the spot. Another police official said while the exact cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, preliminary information points to technical factors.

The aircraft was undergoing flight testing post overhaul and was under HAL's inventory for overhaul and testing purposes, IAF sources said. After overhauling and testing, the aircraft are handed back to IAF for operations, the sources added.

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a two-seater, twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and built under licence by HAL for the Indian Air Force.