IAF's Su-30 fighter plane crashes, both pilots bail out safely

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter jet from Pune’s Lohegaon IAF jet base crashed near Wade Bolhai village, 25km north of the city at 1.10 pm on Tuesday. This is the first Sukhoi crash over Pune skies since the city became a base for the jets.

Pune is the largest Sukhoi base in the country. It had three Sukhoi squadrons until recently when one of these squadrons moved to Jodhpur. The Sukhoi 30MKI is a state-of-the-art air dominance fighter jet and arguably India’s biggest deterrent force in the sky.

Both pilots, Wing Commander GS Sohal and his weapons systems operator, Flight Lieutenant U Nautiyal, ejected safely. The aircraft that crashed in an open plot did not cause any fatalities on the ground.

Air Commodore VR Chaudhari, air officer commanding, Pune Lohegaon air base, told mediapersons at the crash site that the fighter jet, which was on a routine sortie, had taken off from the Lohegaon air base at 12.40pm.

“The jet developed a technical snag in 20 minutes and the pilots diverted the aircraft over a safe and barren patch of land before ejecting to safety,” Chaudhari said.

According to Chaudhari, the pilots ejected over Hargudevasti, a small hamlet close by, and were safe and sound. He said an IAF team was searching for the black box and a court of inquiry had been initiated.
The crash site was a beehive of activity, with IAF personnel rummaging through the debris. The jet had been reduced to ashes with many of its parts strewn all over the open plot.

Two eyewitnesses – a watchman of a bungalow adjacent to the crash site, Jitendra Mhaske and a farmer, Sanjay Kamble – told journalists there were two fighter jets circling the open plot and flying very low. “The wheel of one of the aircraft was already on fire and this is the aircraft which came down in the open plot and exploded in flames, while the other aircraft flew away,” Mhaske said.

Police patil of the Wade Bolhai village, Dattatraya Bhorde, said it was good that the pilots crashed in an open plot as the village had a population of 5,000 and Hargudevasti where the pilots ejected also had ten homes.