A Sea Harrier fighter aircraft of Indian Navy crashed at Dabolim airport here on Monday but the pilot bailed out safely as the incident raised questions.
PANAJI: A Sea Harrier fighter aircraft of Indian Navy crashed at Dabolim airport here on Monday but the pilot bailed out safely as the incident raised questions whether the force would be able to sustain its depleted fleet of the planes in operational preparadness.
A single-seater sea Sea Harrier aircraft crashed while trying to land after an operational sortie at 11.15 hours, disrupting flying operations at the resort in peak tourist season for over 90 minutes.
The pilot of the fighter Commander Janak Bevli managed to eject safely and there was no casualities on the ground when the aging fighter crashed to the ground with a big thud.
This is the fourth accident involving a Sea Harrier in the past one year. Earlier this year, another Sea Harrier had crashed while landing on the Navy carrier INS Viraat during a multi-nation naval exercice in the Bay of Bengal.
Another fighter nose dived into the Arabian Sea after taking off from the same airport months back killing the pilot. Yet another Harrier rammed into a wall while landing here but the pilot managed to bail out safely.
Indian Navy had purchased thirty Sea Harrier aircraft in late 1980s, using 25 for operational flying and five others for training.
Over the years, the Navy has lost 11 Sea Harriers and the fighter planes have gone out of production from the British Aerospace assembly lines.
The Navy is in the process of mid-life upgradation of these fighters at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.
A large number of Harriers have gone for upgradation being undertaken with the fighter manufacturers British Aerospace.
The upgrade is aimed at giving Sea Harriers 10 to 15 years of more life and equipping them with advanced avionics and weapons.
Recently, the Navy was in negotiations with the Royal British Navy on proposals to acquire some its war reserve of these fighters. But till date nothing has materialised, Navy sources said.
The Indian Navy would start receiving the first of its advanced Mig-29K sea fighters next year. These fighters will equip the Navy's second carrier INS Vikramditya being purchased from Russia.
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