Pilot killed in Sea Harrier crash; jets ok, says Navy chief

Panaji: An Indian Navy Sea Harrier combat jet crashed off the Goa coast Friday morning, killing its pilot Lt. Cdr. Saurav Saxena, officials said.
The twin-engine jet, which took off from the Dabolim airport here around 10 a.m., ditched into the sea at 11.57 a.m. while on an exercise with an Indian Navy ship 15 km off the Goa coast, Captain Surinder Ahuja, commander of INS Hansa, one of the three naval bases in Goa, told reporters here.
“We have recovered the pilot’s body. The exact scene of accident has also been identified because of the visible wreckage. The process of salvaging the aircraft will begin soon,” Ahuja said, adding that a board of enquiry had been appointed to probe the reasons for the crash.
“It was a seven to eight year old fighter plane. It was in good condition and Saxena was one of our ace pilots,” Ahuja said.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who happened to be in Goa when the accident occurred ruled out the susceptibility of Sea Harriers to accidents, saying they were perfectly good machines.
The Dabolim airport is the land base for the V/STOL (vertical/short take off and landing) jets, which were recently retrofitted to enable them to fire beyond visual range (BVR) missiles.
21/08/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Categories: Airports Aug 2009, Safety Aug 2009