IAF jets crash: Mirage black box, part of Sukhoi data recorder recovered

An official said on Sunday (January 29) that the black box of the Mirage 2000 and a section of the flight data recorder from the Sukhoi-30MKI jet that crashed in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh have been located among the wreckage.

The two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Morena on Saturday, resulting in the death of a wing commander while two other pilots ejected safely.

Also Read: IAFs Sukhoi, Mirage aircraft crash in MPs Morena; one pilot killed

Defence experts have said it is probable that the Russian-designed Sukhoi-30MKI jet and the French Mirage-2000 had a mid-air collision, but there was no official comment on it from the IAF. Morena Collector Ankit Asthana on Saturday said the debris of both the aircraft fell in Pahargarh area of the district. Some debris also fell in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, which borders Madhya Pradesh, he had said.

“The black box, or the flight data recorder, is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft and helps in the investigation of flight accidents. The black box of the Mirage aircraft has been found from the wreckage in Pahargarh area of Morena. A part of the Sukhoi aircraft’s black box has also been found and the remaining part of the recorder might have fallen in Bharatpur,” Morena Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri told PTI over phone.

Also Read: 7 reasons why Nepal is witnessing frequent flight crashes

“The IAF, police and other departments are searching for the remaining part of the Sukhoi aircraft recorder,” he said. A high-level probe has been ordered into the accident, officials earlier said. While the Mirage aircrafts pilot, identified as Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, died in the accident, the two pilots of the Sukhoi aircraft managed to eject and were taken to a military hospital, they had said.

According to an aviation expert, it was the first Mirage 2000 as well as Sukhoi-30MKI that the IAF lost in a mid-air collision. The SU-30MKI is a twin-seater combat jet, while the Mirage 2000, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, is a single-seater aircraft. Both the jets had taken off from the Gwalior Air Force station. The base is equipped with squadrons of both Sukhoi-30MKIs and the Mirage 2000 jets.

(With agency inputs)