India’s first indigenous civilian aircraft project suffered a tragic setback with a prototype crashing during a test flight, killing two pilots and an engineer on board.
India’s first indigenous civilian aircraft project suffered a tragic setback on Friday with a prototype crashing during a test flight, killing two pilots and an engineer on board, at Bidadi near Bangalore.
The aircraft is being developed by National Aeronautics Limited (Nal), Bangalore, for use as a multi-role civil transport plane, executive jet, and reconnaissance light aircraft.
Admitting that it was a major “setback” for the Saras programme, Nal director AR Upadhyay apologised for the failure and also for the death of the crew. “We are extremely sorry that this incident happened, and also for the bereaved families of the pilots and the engineer,” he said.
The second prototype, a 14-seater small aircraft, had completed 170 of the specified 200 flying hours to gain the airworthiness test certificate to go for production when it crashed on Friday afternoon, a source said. The first one had completed 126 flights logging around 70 hours.
Wing commanders T Praveen and D Shah had come on deputation from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) to test the Saras prototype-II, which was displayed at the Aero India 2009 show at Yelahanka.
The two test pilots took off from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport with squadron leader Ilayaraja, an engineer, at 2:55pm to fly over the Bangalore-Mysore sector.
“An hour after take-off, air traffic control (ATC) officials lost contact with the pilots,” an ATC official said. The plane crashed at bout 4pm near Bidadi. The charred bodies of the three crew were recovered from the wreckage.
Police said five fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. A parachute was found at the crash site. Top Nal officials also rushed to the spot soon after the incident.
AR Upadhyay, director of the National Aeronautics Limited which is developing the aircraft, said: “It is a major setback for our Saras programme because we have lost our aircraft that was used for specific climbing. We will hold discussions with various authorities, including the IAF, and chalk out the future course of action.”
Why did the aircraft crash? “Since it was in a developing phase, we would not like to speculate on the reasons for the crash,” Upadhyay said. “We will appoint an inquiry committee to look into it. The directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) and the IAF together with Nal will analyse all data and determine the cause of the crash and take subsequent steps.”
Nal and IAF officials were trying to recover the black box from the spot, an agency report said.
According to the data available with the Indian meteorology department, weather can be ruled out as the cause of the crash. The wind speed was 18.5kph and visibility was clear at 1,000 metres. The average wind speed during summer varies from 9kph to 18.5kph.
—-With agencies
The project details
The Saras project, which was approved in 1999 with initial cost of Rs139 crore, was termed overweight by the IAF.
The first prototype weighed around 5,000 kg, 993 kg more than the required weight. NAL then tried to reduce the weight by 400 kg and increase the engine’s efficiency.
The weight of the multi-role 14-seater aircraft had been reduced in the second prototype, which was powered by two Pratt and Whitney-II type engines fitted at the rear of the aircraft.
Possible uses: as a 14-seater civil aircraft; 6 to 8-seater executive jet; an as a reconnaissance aircraft
Maximum cruise speed: 550 km per hour
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