Military Flight Safety

[Karthik S]

ANI‏Verified account @ANI_news
Both pilots of Su-30 aircraft which crashed approx 60 Km from Tezpur Airbase on 23 May died in crash. Court of Inquiry already ordered

Om Shanti

[shiv]

From Shiv Aroor
https://twitter.com/livefist/status/869939077092491266

[Vivek K]

RIP brave sons of India.

[Khalsa]

There is more coverage about Priyanka Chopra's legs with Narendra Modi than than these two souls.
Honestly WTF and facepalm !!
{I don't care if she wears a Burqa or a Bikini with the Prime Minister in the room, by the way.}

[Mort Walker]

Very sad. They couldn't eject indicates catastrophic failure or as claimed of guided flight into terrain.

[jayasimha]

R.I.P brave hearts.
---------------------------

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
31-May-2017 20:19 IST
Pilots of Crashed Iaf Su-30 Aircraft Fatally Injured

Sqn Ldr D Pankaj and Flt Lt S Achudev, the pilots of the Su-30 aircraft sustained fatal injuries when the aircraft crashed approximately 60 Km from Tezpur Airbase on 23 May 17. Analysis of the Flight Data Recorder of the aircraft and certain other articles recovered from the crash site revealed that the pilots could not initiate ejection before the crash. The wreckage of the aircraft was earlier located on 26 May 17 after continuous search operation in the area.

The Su-30 aircraft took off around 1030 h on 23 May 17 and had gone off the radar and lost radio contact around 1110 h when aircraft was around 60 Kms from Tezpur. The aircraft was on a routine training mission as part of a two aircraft formation.

The aircraft was declared overdue and Search and Rescue operations were launched to locate the aircraft and the pilots. Help from civil administration and military authorities was also sought to locate the aircraft. Aerial search was commenced based on the last known position of the Su-30 MKI. Incessant rain, dense clouds and difficult terrain hampered the search operations in air and on the ground.

A court of Inquiry has already been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.

***********


AB/BIS
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease. ... lid=163299

[manjgu]

commercial flights routinely fly thru bad weather...just wondering how do fighter jets cope with bad weather? dont the fighters have radars to monitor weather etc? clouds? are fighters more susceptible to bad weather?

[chetak]

Very sad. They couldn't eject indicates catastrophic failure or as claimed of guided flight into terrain.

CFIT controlled flight into terrain.

[Manish_P]

Very sad news. Deepest condolences to the families of the departed warriors.

[shiv]

commercial flights routinely fly thru bad weather...just wondering how do fighter jets cope with bad weather? dont the fighters have radars to monitor weather etc? clouds? are fighters more susceptible to bad weather?

Commercial flights avoid bad weather or fly above the weather. Fighters fly into bad weather if need be and have to do very low level flying

[DrRatnadip]

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/union-m ... 441342.cms


Union minister Kiren Rijiju's chopper makes emergency landing, all safe

The Mi-17 helicopter with Rijiju and seven other passengers and crew members on board was flying from Guwahati to Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh when it faced heavy rains and fog.

[arshyam]

Arunachal: IAF helicopter goes missing with three on board - By ANI, TNIE

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], July 4 (ANI): An Indian Air Force (IAF) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that was deployed for lifting people stranded due to road blockage went missing, along with three crew members, between Sagalee and Itanagar districts of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The chopper was rescuing people who were stranded due to landslides that were triggered by rain.

Informing about the incident, Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said, “Weather is turbulent in North-East. I'm safe but whole State machinery is geared up to locate IAF ALH chopper missing almost at same time”.

Rijiju further tweeted, “Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and state government are mobilising local people to locate missing IAF helicopter which was on a rescue mission.”

“CM @PemaKhanduBJP ji & State Govt mobilising local people to locate the missing IAF helicopter which was on a rescue mission in Arunachal”.

Earlier in the day, Kiren Rijiju’s chopper made an emergency landing due to bad weather.

The Mi-17 helicopter landed to an alternative place as it was caught in heavy rain and fog, which made navigation difficult.

Rijiju was travelling to Ziro in Arunachal to attend the local Dree festival there. He was also going to overview the disaster preparedness and to meet paramilitary personnel deployed along the Sino-India border.

[Marten]

IAF's fighter jet crash lands in Jodhpur

NEW DELHI: An Indian Air Force's MiG-23 trainer aircraft crash landed on Thursday at Rajasthan's Balesar in Jodhpur district, PTI reported.

"It was a MiG-23 UB trainer plane and both the pilot and co-pilot are safe," News agency said while quoting defence sources.

[gauravsh]

^^^ Marten saar, weren't Mig-23 phased out ??

[Kakarat]

^^^ Marten saar, weren't Mig-23 phased out ??

Mig-23 trainers are still in use for Mig-27 training

[Austin]

Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Wreckage Located MOD Press

On 04 Jul 17, an ALH of helicopter unit based at Tezpur had gone missing while carrying out an HADR mission near Itanagar. The helicopter had carried out five sorties evacuating stranded people near Itanagar due to landslides between Naharlagun and Sagalee. There were three crew members and a Arunachal Pradesh police personnel on board, when the aircraft was reported missing at approx 1550 hrs. While the search and rescue operations were initiated immediately, however the process was hampered frequently due to bad weather in the area.

Joint rescue teams of Army, NDRF, Arunachal Pradesh Police and IAF were launched to locate the helicopter. The Arunachal Pradesh Police team spotted the wreckage of the helicopter in the evening of 05 Jul 17. On 06 Jul 17 morning, rescue parties comprising IAF Garuds and medical team, Army, NDRF were able to reach the crash site alongwith the Arunachal Pradesh Police team who had sited the wreckage. The bodies of three personnel have been recovered so far. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.

[DrRatnadip]

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities ... 1771/lite/

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of IAF crashes in Kathua in Jammu-Kashmir

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Air Force crashed near Ladoli village in Rajbagh area of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir during wee hours of Friday.
No one was injured in the crash as debris of the UAV fell into the forest area, sources said, adding the nearest residential area was over a km away from the crash site.
The UAV had disappeared from the radar of the IAF around 2.30 am and it’s last location was noted to be Khanpur.

[Kakarat]

Livefist@livefist

Just in: Indian Army ALH Dhruv chopper crashes in Eastern Ladakh. Crew escapes with minor injuries.

14 Corps Cdr Lt Gen SK Upadhyaya & 3 Infantry Div CO Maj Gen Savneet Singh on board. All safe. Crashed at Tsogstalu helipad. Rudder failure.

[shiv]

Rudder failure?

[JayS]

Livefist@livefist

Just in: Indian Army ALH Dhruv chopper crashes in Eastern Ladakh. Crew escapes with minor injuries.

14 Corps Cdr Lt Gen SK Upadhyaya & 3 Infantry Div CO Maj Gen Savneet Singh on board. All safe. Crashed at Tsogstalu helipad. Rudder failure.

More like crash landing...???

[Rakesh]

Rudder failure?

I am assuming they mean this...
https://aviation.stackexchange.com/ques ... udder-work

[shiv]

https://twitter.com/livefist/status/913302878978170880
Shiv Aroor

IAF HJT-16 Kiran trainer crashes near Hyderabad. Pilot safe. Details awaited.

[Manish_P]

Every time this thread comes top, the old fear and some memories which won't go, surface.

Glad to see the pilot is safe. That's the only thing I look for, initially. That and no loss of life on the ground.

[Mukesh.Kumar]

Dread grips me every time I see this thread back in the first page. Thank God the pilot is safe.

[shiv]

Bad news:

Livefist‏Verified account @livefist 8m8 minutes ago
More
BREAKING: IAF Mi-17 chopper has crashed in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. At least six military personnel feared dead. Details awaited.

Livefist‏Verified account @livefist 3m3 minutes ago
More
Crash site about 12 km India-Tibet border. Aircraft was a Mi-17-V5. Army & AF personnel among dead. A day before Air Force Day. Tragic.

[Singha]

it was ferrying kerosene to fwd position

[Singha]

riyadh has agreed to buy S400 from russia.

must be quid pro quo for some other track2 deal

[Varoon Shekhar]

Horrible, and getting a little too frequent not to notice. On the same day, 4 medical students die in an auto accident, where a 'lorry' struck them. Any death in an accident is tragic, but young medical students is really awful. India has a deficiency in health care professionals, and these students could have helped India. Defense personnel dying in a sensitive area is also particularly bad.

[chetak]

it was ferrying kerosene to fwd position

per tv news, this kerosene was been unloaded by nets from the hovering chopper, when the net with the kerosine jerrycans snagged the tail rotor and this, among other things, caused the kerosene to light up and that fire then engulfed the chopper, killing all on board. Badly charred bodies could not even be identified.

we have to await confirmation.

[Surya]

it was ferrying kerosene to fwd position

per tv news, this kerosene was been unloaded by nets from the hovering chopper, when the net with the kerosine jerrycans snagged the tail rotor and this, among other things, caused the kerosene to light up and that fire then engulfed the chopper, killing all on board. Badly charred bodies could not even be identified.

we have to await confirmation.

Apparently true based on what I am being told

[Rakesh]

The five Indian Air Force & two Indian Army personnel who perished
in this morning's Mi-17 V5 crash in Arunachal Pradesh. Rest in Peace.

[Rakesh]

RIP, Wing Cdr V Upadhyay - Captain of Mi-17 V5 helicopter that crashed
near Tawang. Mortal remains of 7 personnel flown to their native places.

[Rakesh]

Official IAF tweet about the tragic accident...

It's a sad moment for the IAF to confirm loss of Mi-17 V5 helicopter
along with seven defence personnel, including give air warriors.

[pandyan]

per tv news, this kerosene was been unloaded by nets from the hovering chopper, when the net with the kerosine jerrycans snagged the tail rotor and this, among other things, caused the kerosene to light up and that fire then engulfed the chopper, killing all on board. Badly charred bodies could not even be identified.

we have to await confirmation.

Apparently true based on what I am being told

is this standard procedure to deliver supplies. It's tragic that even essential supply requires taking such risks. Would having better road infrastructure help? (is it even possible to build roads there?)

Number of lives lost along with equipment lost...sounds we are paying for all these years of neglect in infrastructure

May the warriors find peace

[Rakesh]

Apparently true based on what I am being told

is this standard procedure to deliver supplies. It's tragic that even essential supply requires taking such risks. Would having better road infrastructure help? (is it even possible to build roads there?)

As per the official IAF tweet, the terrain to where the supplies was being delivered to was in a hilly terrain. That means no helipad or any flat surface to land safely on. Thus dropping supplies from a hovering helicopter appears to be the only choice.

Hopefully deejay can provide more inputs if he is reading this.

[deejay]

is this standard procedure to deliver supplies. It's tragic that even essential supply requires taking such risks. Would having better road infrastructure help? (is it even possible to build roads there?)

As per the official IAF tweet, the terrain to where the supplies was being delivered to was in a hilly terrain. That means no helipad or any flat surface to land safely on. Thus dropping supplies from a hovering helicopter appears to be the only choice.

Hopefully deejay can provide more inputs if he is reading this.

It was a para drop. It's not done from hover but with forward speed.

The Para deployed and got entangled with the tail rotor. They were carrying kerosene jerrycans and even the pallet with the entangled para was also loaded with jerrycans.

We lost all of them. RIP friends!

[chetak]

is this standard procedure to deliver supplies. It's tragic that even essential supply requires taking such risks. Would having better road infrastructure help? (is it even possible to build roads there?)

As per the official IAF tweet, the terrain to where the supplies was being delivered to was in a hilly terrain. That means no helipad or any flat surface to land safely on. Thus dropping supplies from a hovering helicopter appears to be the only choice.

Hopefully deejay can provide more inputs if he is reading this.

Lowering, not dropping supplies.

Dropping from hover is akin to free fall and the jerrycans will not withstand the drop.

There was either an unintended movement of the helicopter itself or a sudden shift in the wind direction or a gust which caught them unawares.

[srin]

The Mi-17's tail rotor is at a higher elevation than the rear door, so I suspect a strong gust of wind at precisely the wrong time could have lifted the parachute into the rotor system.

[chetak]

The Mi-17's tail rotor is at a higher elevation than the rear door, so I suspect a strong gust of wind at precisely the wrong time could have lifted the parachute into the rotor system.

In every chopper with a tail rotor, it is higher than the door.

[tsarkar]

This is how helicopters para drop supplies at low levels.

Updrafts and Ridge Lifts are common phenomenon. I understand - depending on circumstances - there are SOPs is place for flying early morning to avoid updrafts due to daytime heating.

https://www.britannica.com/science/updraft

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_lift

My sheer admiration & respect for our boys and girls who fly in such conditions with negligible warning and close to zero reaction time.