Thursday, March 04, 2010

Both pilots had over 1000 flying hours to their credit

Panaji/New Delhi: Two experienced pilots of the Indian Navy, each with over 1,000 flying hours to their credit, were killed when the trainer aircraft belonging to INAS 551 at INS Hans, Goa, Sagar Pawan, crashed into a two-storeyed building during an air show on Wednesday at Hyderabad. The Navy has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
The two naval pilots, Cdr Suresh K Maurya (39) and his co-pilot Lt Cdr Rahul Nair (33), were performing in the aerobatics display when the aircraft crashed into a building. They were performing at the inaugural function of the India Aviation 2010 Air-show at Hyderabad. Posted at INS Hansa, Goa, the two fly fighter jets and are specialised pilots.
‘‘The team has performed extensively across the country at many locations since its inception in 2002 with many an accolade and has had an accident-free record to date,'' a navy spokesperson said.
‘‘Both pilots were experienced members of the Sagar Pawan Aerobatics Team (SPAT). SPAT consists of HAL-manufactured fighter trainer Kiran Mk II aircraft based at INS Hansa at Dabolim,'' the spokesperson added.
The aircraft, an Mk II frame number 708, crashed a couple of minutes before noon in the Bowenpally locality near the old Begumpet Airport in the heart of Hyderabad.
It appears Commander Maurya tried his best until the last minute to steer the aircraft out of the civilian area to minimise human casualty. His co-pilot, Lt Commander Rahul Nair, had ejected, but was short of the required altitude and failed to activate his parachute. The accident took place killing both when the Sagar Pawan team was in its final action called ‘downward bomb bust manoeuvre' which would have taken the four aircraft in different directions.
Cdr Maurya was from Sultanpur in UP and is survived by his wife, while Lt Cdr Nair was from Kerala and is survived by his wife and a three-year-old son. The family lives in Mayur Vihar in Delhi.
‘‘In the final dive, the pilots either overshot the ‘dive limit' and could not pull up fast enough or the engine failed, making it impossible for them to control the aircraft,'' said a Navy official.
04/03/10 Times of India
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