Three IAF pilots die in trainer plane crash

screwterrorists

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Bangalore: Three Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots were burnt to death on Friday when the prototype Saras aircraft of the state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) crashed and caught fire in an open field near Bidadi, about 30 km from Bangalore, a top official said.

An IAF official said the deceased pilots were Squadron Leader Ilayiraj, Wing Commander Praveen and Wing Commander Shah.

"The second prototype of our small aircraft was on a regular flight test when the tragic mishap occurred claiming the precious lives of three young IAF pilots. We are very distressed and feel sad for the loss of their lives. Our sympathies to the bereaved families," NAL director AR Upadhya told IANS after he rushed to Bangalore from Hyderabad on learning about the accident.

Earlier, an official of the IAF's Aircraft Systems & Testing Establishment (ASTE) said the ill-fated Saras-PT2 took off from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport in the city at 1455 hours IST on a test flight southwards and crashed in an open field near Bidadi around 1605 hours IST while returning from Mysore.

"An hour after the aircraft took off from our runway, we lost contact with it. As we were trying to ascertain what happened, the Bangalore rural police called our air traffic control (ATC) and informed that a yellow-coloured aircraft had crashed in a field and caught fire. A police spokesman also said there bodies were found in the charred wreckage," the ASTE official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Within 30 minutes, the ASTE rushed a few IAF and NAL officials by helicopter to the mishap site for rescue operations.

Meanwhile, the rural police cordoned off the wreckage site to keep away curious crowds from the nearby villages and fenced the place. An ambulance from the IAF Command Hospital was rushed to the spot to recover the bodies.

"An inquiry will be ordered in consultation with the IAF. The director general of civil aviation (DGCA) will conduct the probe. It is too early to say what caused the crash. Efforts are on to recover the black box and ascertain from the ASTE what transpired between the Saras crew and the ATC during the flight, especially in the last minutes," Upadhya said.

The 14-seater multi-role Saras has been designed and developed by the Bangalore-based NAL for use by the military and civil aviation sector. NAL is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The Bangalore rural police said no civilian was injured or killed on the ground as the plane crashed in an open field near a village.

Named after the Indian crane, the airframe of Saras-PT2 was built with lighter composites to reduce its overall weight by about 400kg from its first prototype, which was overweight by about 900 kg. The aircraft is powered by two Canadian Pratt & Whitney turbo-prop engines.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/three-iaf-pilots-die-in-trainer-plane-crash/86999-3.html

__________________

Sad sad day.
Loss of life is regrettable. Prayers out to everyone's families.
 

Vinod2070

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RIP. Condolences to the family members.
 

Rage

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The NAL has to realize that we cannot keep sacrificing the lives of our pilots because of their lack of due diligence. The officers on board: Wing Commanders Praveen and Shah and Squadron Leader Ilayaraaja were senior members of the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment of the IAF, and three of our finest. Their loss is no trifling matter.

The Saras has some serious technical issues that need to be immediately resolved: It's PT-1 weighs 993 kgs more than its designated weight of 4125 kg, and this particularly in a civilian transport aircraft is of serious consequence. After this crash, the NAL must proceed fortwith to reduce the all-up weight of the aircraft through greater use of alloy-composites and improving margins on the basic structure and landing gear. We cannot afford to lose the lives of any more of our fine pilots...
 

EnlightenedMonk

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R I P :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

I have a lot of things to say about this, but I'd rather not post them here...
 

Triton

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India to go ahead with Saras light military aircraft project

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- India will go ahead with the development of its first indigenous light aircraft Saras for its armed forces despite the recent crash of its prototype in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, killing three Indian Air Force pilots, which raised concerns about the safety of the 14-seater aeroplane.

"The Saras project will continue," S.K. Brahmachari, Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, told the media on Tuesday.

India has already approved additional funds for the project as well as for developing a 70-seater passenger aircraft.

The NAL Saras is the first Indian multi-purpose civilian aircraft in the Light Transport Aircraft category designed by the National Aerospace Laboratory.

The twin turboprop powered multi-role aircraft crashed with three Indian Air Force officers on board at Bidadi, near Bangalore, on March 6 while on a test flight.

The Indian Air Force intends to place an order for up to 45 such aircraft. The Indian Navy has placed an order for supply of at least 15 such aircraft.
 

ZOOM

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So I gather and hope that there were no serious problems with the plane. Whatever minor glitches were uncovered were fixed ???
They have formed standing committee to uncertain the error which became the reason for such crash. So far nothing unearth as yet. :sAni_monkey:
 

EnlightenedMonk

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They have formed standing committee to uncertain the error which became the reason for such crash. So far nothing unearth as yet. :sAni_monkey:
Oh, a Standing Committee... Good !!! You know why it is called a Standing Committee ??? Because it sits on things !!! :D:D:D:D

Are they scheduled to submit their report in this century or the next ???

:):):)
 

ZOOM

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Oh, a Standing Committee... Good !!! You know why it is called a Standing Committee ??? Because it sits on things !!! :D:D:D:D

Are they scheduled to submit their report in this century or the next ???

:):):)
Standing committee's aren't being placed to make their fun. It takes some time to unearth the cause of crash. If you are watching serial "Air Crash Investigation" on National Geographic Channel which telecast various Civilian aircrashs happened in the past and the way various investigation being carried out to unearth the error behind the crash, then you will realize how much time it takes to submit final report. It can even take years or sometimes even a day. But in case of SARAS, I dont think much time will be taken since it was still in prototype stage and hence crash one among various parameters that NAL require to analyse. :angry:
 

nitesh

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now this is spirit, best of luck to the guys. I am confident that they will achieve success
Brahmachari, who met scientists at NAL and relatives of the deceased pilots on Saturday, said that father of one of the pilots told him that completion of the project would be a fitting tribute to his son
 

EnlightenedMonk

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Expert highlights deficiencies in Saras flight control system

Expert highlights deficiencies in Saras flight control system

BANGALORE: Did the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), the designers of the indigenous Saras light transport aircraft — a prototype of which crashed on March 6 killing its three-man Indian Air Force (IAF) crew — err in flying the aircraft?

A senior NAL official told The Hindu that an independent, but a brief review in last December of the design aspects, including the Saras’ flight control system by an aviation specialist from Germany, had brought out deficiencies in the aircraft’s existing controls and “recommended modifications, changes and further reviews to address existing problems.”

Rudder control
On the aircraft’s rudder control, the specialist had even gone as far as stating: “On one of the quadrants in the empennage of the Saras, the cable guard limits the rotation of the quadrant. By rotating the quadrant, the cable will be stretched and it causes a load increase in the cable tension and may limit deflection angle of the control surface. In addition, this changes the kinematics. This should be investigated and corrected prior [to] next flight.”

During his four-day visit, the expert had discussed with officials connected with the Saras programme, “aerodynamic issues, especially on the balanced and trim tab, control forces in the rudder control system during single engine operation, centring of the aileron control [and] loads on the flap system.”

The expert then provided NAL with an executive summary of the individual issues which were discussed, explaining that while in some areas recommendations could directly be given, in other fields more detailed investigations would have to be performed.

Official sources close to the Saras programme also told The Hindu that wind tunnel tests carried out by NAL had established that there were shortcomings in the aircraft’s flight controls.

The twin-engine prototype went down as its IAF test crew were involved in verifying for the first time on the Saras an engine relight (shutting off and restarting, in sequence the engines in mid air).

The ill-fated prototype was fitted with new Pratt and Whitney engines that were not only larger in size, demanding modifications to the aircraft’s stub wings and the strengthening of the rear fuselage, but also produced a higher thrust (1,200 shaft horsepower) compared to the engines (850 shaft horsepower) that are flying the Saras’ first prototype.

Officials tight-lipped
Though they acknowledge the German expert’s findings, NAL officials were tight-lipped on whether the highlighted design deficiencies were investigated or corrected.

All that a senior official with the programme would say was that “the report was only a first information report on the aircraft and it would be incorrect to go by the spirit of the report.” He also added that it would be incorrect to say that the prototype was not fit to fly.

NAL Director A.R. Upadhya declined to comment.

The recently constituted board of inquiry of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, which will look into what went wrong when the prototype crashed, will start functioning from Monday.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/23/stories/2009032351381100.htm
 

A.V.

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another 3 lives lost may they rest in peace its sad going recently with a lot of valuable life lost
 

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