Click to play videoBangalore: The Indian aviation industry was red faced when a showcase jet “slipped” at the Aero India show in Bangalore on February 8.
The intermediate jet trainer (IJT) is supposed to be Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s pride, but before an international audience at the show it veered off the runway.
India has hawked the IJT at airs shows in Paris, Farnborough and Singapore. The immediate explanation was that a tyre burst caused the mishap. But an inquiry has now found that the pilot forgot to latch the canopy of the cockpit shut before speeding down the runway for take-off.
The canopy opened when the aircraft was at full throttle and when the pilot applied the brakes a tyre burst. The inquiry alleges that the pilot’s carelessness have undone the hard work gone into making Indian-made aircraft reliable.
Dhruv, an indigenous helicopter, crashed during an aerobatics rehearsal before the air show began. This incident, too, has been blamed on pilot error.
A court of inquiry has found evidence suggesting that the helicopter pilot could not recover from an aerobatics manoeuvre being performed at low height. This was the first fatal crash involving Dhruv.
Those associated with Dhruv’s development swear by its reliability, which has been established over 11 years of rigorous tests.
"If it can survive Siachen and Chile, it can stand anything," said C D Upadhyay, Chief Test Pilot of HAL.
The two crashes though won’t help the aircraft. The most immediate fallout of this crash could be on India's sales pitch in Chile and elsewhere.
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