Freak Ejection: Big Twist To IAF Su-30 Crash

Big twist to the October 14 Su-30 crash story, and it's straight from the IAF itself. A statement put out by the IAF a moment ago, presumably in response to reports today that the Su-30 MKI fleet has been grounded following the crash, has actually put out a bigger story: It has hinted at a problem that caused the ejection seats unexpectedly to fire during final approach (not just after take-off as had been previously believed). Here's the full statement:

One Su-30 fighter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was involved in an accident on October 14, 2014 in which both ejection seats had fired whilst the aircraft was coming in to land.  The pilots were safe but the aircraft crashed about 20 Kms short of the runway.  No loss of life or damage to property was reported.  A Court of Inquiry (CoI)  had immediately been constituted to investigate the cause of accident. Meanwhile, as is the procedure in such cases, the flying of the Su-30 fleet has been temporarily suspended.  The CoI is in progress and certain specific checks are being conducted on the aircraft.  As and when the checks are complete and the Court is satisfied, the Su-30s will be put back into flying.

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