Ambala, May 7
A Jaguar fighter aircraft of the
Indian Air Force crashed in Ambala City this evening. There were no
casualties.
The deep-penetration strike aircraft crashed within minutes after
take-off from the Ambala Air Force Station. The pilot of the aircraft bailed out
safely. This is the seventh fighter aircraft crash of the Ambala Cantonment Air
Force Station in the last two years. This includes two Jaguars of this air base
that crashed in the Valley last month.
The Jaguar took off from the air base at
about 4.20 pm and crashed barely three minutes later at Patti Shekhan. The
aircraft crashed a short distance away from habitation at Manmohan Nagar,
located close to GT road.
The pilot of the Jaguar fighter aircraft, Sqn Ldr
Tamaskar, bailed out safely. He ejected from the aircraft near Jaroth road. The
pilot was spotted by a policeman, who was on duty in the area. He informed the
police control room of the incident and attended to the pilot.
Sqn Ldr
Tamaskar was rushed to Military Hospital in an ambulance of Sasan hospital,
Ambala City. The pilot is said to have sustained injuries on the left leg and
neck.
An eye-witness said he heard a loud noise. “When I looked up, I saw that
the aircraft was shaking violently in the air. It crashed a short distance
away,” he said.
The aircraft crashed at Patti Shekhan which is sandwiched
between Saddo Majra and Manakpur. The Jaguar crashed in the fields owned by Mr
Shiv Charan Singh. The crop in the field had already been harvested.
A visit to
the spot showed that the aircraft had formed a crater where it had fallen. Due
to the impact, the aircraft wreckage was scattered in an area of more than five
acres. Parts of the fuselage, undercarriage and wings could be seen. The impact
of the crash was evident from the fact that the aircraft had totally
disintegrated.
Air Force officers recovered the flight data recorder from the
fields. It was immediately taken away to the air base.
A large number of people
had gathered at the crash site. The policemen cordoned off the area to ensure
that the Air Force personnel could carry out their investigation. The policemen
had a difficult time in keeping curious onlookers at bay.
On April 4 this year,
two Jaguar aircraft of the Ambala air base crashed in the Valley. The pilots of
both aircraft were killed. They were Flt-Lt Gagan Oberoi and Flt Mayank Mayur.
On
July 22, 2003, a Jaguar crashed within the Air Force Station while landing. The
aircraft broke into two pieces and caught fire. The residents of Dhankaur
village had heard a loud noise. While the tail piece of the Jaguar had remained
upright, the undercarriage had flipped over.
