3rd Sukhoi crash,old problem suspected

The Indian Air Force today lost its third Sukhoi 30 MKI in as many years,with a fighter going down on the outskirts of Pune. While both pilots ejected,initial reports indicated a failure of the fly by wire systems in what is the most advanced fighter in the IAF fleet,an issue the Sukhois have been struggling with.

Sources said the fighter crashed 15 minutes after take-off from the Lohegaon airbase. The pilots,Wing Commander G S Sohal and Flight Lt U Nautiyal,are learnt to have reported to the command centre problems in controlling the aircraft soon after taking off.

After all options of a forced or emergency landing were ruled out,the pilots decided to abandon the fighter,sources said. Officials indicated that Sohal managed to direct the aircraft over an unpopulated patch of land before ejecting along with weapons controller Nautiyal.

The difficulty in controlling the fighter is a likely problem with the fly by wire system,used to control movements of the aircraft. The first Indian Sukhoi to crash,on April 30,2009,in Rajasthan,in which a pilot died,was also attributed to the same problem.