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IAF grounds entire Sukhoi-30 fleet
Glitch in seat ejection one of the main reasons
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 22
India’s frontline fighter jet, the Sukhoi 30-MKI, has a new problem — automatically ejecting pilot seats. So far, the IAF has lost a personnel and a plane costing Rs 100 crore in three such incidents.

The IAF has grounded its entire Sukhoi-30 fleet and is undertaking a thorough technical check. The fresh trouble comes for the Sukhoi close on the heels of repeated mid-air engine failures that have forced a modification in the aircraft.

“The flying of the Su-30 fleet has been temporarily suspended,” said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander SS Birdi on Wednesday. The fleet of about 200 twin-engine Su-30s would be back in air after a technical review.

The move came after a Su-30 was involved in an accident in Pune on October 14 in which both ejection seats had "fired" while the aircraft was coming in to land. It was the third such incident. Both pilots got ejected due to a malfunction in the system. The pilotless jet crashed 20 km short of the IAF base at Lohegaon. No loss of life or damage to property was reported.

In the first incident in 2008, an Airman carrying out a pre-flight test at the Bareilly Sukhoi base had died. The seat ejected on its own when he was sitting in the cockpit making checks. The airman, who was thrown 50 feet up in the air, hit the roof of the hangar, killing him immediately.

The second incident occurred in Jodhpur this year when the one of the fighter jets was taxing to take-off. The seats ejected and the pilots were thrown about 100 feet up in the air. They made a safe landing with the help of parachutes. Since the plane was taxing and was at a very slow speed, there was no damage, sources said.

“A Court of Inquiry is in progress in Pune crash and certain specific checks are being conducted on the aircraft,” said the IAF spokesperson. Sources said these specific checks pertain to pilot seats – the NPP Zvezda K-36DM. The original equipment makers in Russia and the integrators of the plane, the Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, have been informed, source said.

Trouble-hit frontline fighter

• Sukhoi-30 pilots are getting ejected automatically due to a malfunction in the system. The Pune crash is the latest example. Though no loss of life was reported in the crash, the IAF lost the ~100-crore plane
• In 2008, an airman had died while carrying out a pre-flight test at the Bareilly Sukhoi base
• The fresh trouble comes for the Sukhoi close on the heels of repeated mid-air engine failures
• The fleet of about 200 twin-engine Su-30s would be back in air only after a technical review.