Panel’s action plan to cut air crashes by 50 pc: Pranab

An expert committee on air accidents, constituted last December, today submitted a report to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the root c...

An expert committee on air accidents, constituted last December, today submitted a report to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the root causes of fighter crashes, especially the loss of three frontline Mirage-2000s in less than two months late last year.

According to highly-placed sources, Mukherjee said the committee’s action plan would bring down air crashes by 50 per cent over the next two years. He also called for constitution of an implementation committee to ensure progress on all action points.

The report pointed out substantial gaps in selection and training of pilots and ground staff, technology and maintenance practices followed by the IAF and the operating environment. A 50 per cent reduction in crash rates would make the IAF as safe as countries with the best flight safety records.

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The report, formally submitted to the Defence Minister by IAF DG (Inspection & Flight Safety) Air Marshal Padamjit Ahluwalia, has reviewed the existing flying and ground environment in terms of bird hazards, navigational aids, surveillance radars, location of flying units and organisational factors that directly affect flight safety.

While Mukherjee was sent a copy of the report on May 13, Committee Chairman Air Marshal Ahluwalia today made a presentation on the action plan to bring down fighter attrition, sources said.

The Committee was constituted after a succession of fighter crashes, most notably the crash of three Mirage-2000 jets in less than two months. The IAF lost 12 fighters in 2004. Five fighters — three Mirages, a MiG-21 and a MiG-27 — crashed between September 23 and November 9.

Air Marshal Ahluwalia said recently that the IAF’s safety track record was not as bad as it was perceived to be. The IAF’s ageing fleet of Russian MiG-21s, notorious for its safety record, will be in service till 2016.