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HAL BUILT HAWK AJT CRASHES IN ODISHA
An Indian Air Force fighter trainer aircraft crashed in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district — 350 km from Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday. Two pilots, who ejected out of the plane, were reported to be safe.
Since the Hawk A-3492 crashed in a paddy field about 200 metres from human habitation around noon, there were no reports of any civilian casualties or loss of property. The incident took place at Kudarsahi village under the Bisoi police station limit in Mayurbhanj district.
The plane was completely gutted in fire. “We had sent fire tenders to the spot. The fire had been extinguished. Two pilots were safe. They have been given primary treatment at local hospital,” said Asit Panigrahi, Inspector-General (Eastern Range).
Mr. Panigrahi said the IAF authorities had been informed about the incident through proper channel. One of the pilots suffered injuries on his face. Local police sources said the pilot was probably hit by an object while landing by parachute.
Unconfirmed sources said three planes had taken off from the Kalaikunda Air Force Station from neighbouring West Bengal. The Identity of the pilots could not be ascertained.
Meanwhile, another IAF plane landed at the accident site.
HAL production under lens after Hawk trainer crash
Production quality of the country's only aircraft manufacturer, defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), is once again under the scanner after the crash of a Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) last month.
Sources said "quill-shaft failure" in the engine has emerged as the prime reason behind the crash of the twin-seat Hawk AJT, which went down in Odisha while on a training sortie from the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal on June 3. Fortunately, the two pilots managed to eject safely.
HAL is tasked with manufacturing 99 of the 123 Hawks ordered from BAE Systems, with transfer of technology, in the overall AJT project already worth well over Rs 16,000 crore till now. But the entire endeavor has been marred by politico-bureaucratic apathy, poor long-term planning, flawed multiple contracts and delayed delivery schedules.
As it is, the crash of an AJT, which is meant to be a robust fail-safe flying machine to train rookie pilots in the intricacies of combat flying, is startling. But what has further raised eyebrows is that the ill-fated Hawk, with a Rolls-Royce engine, had clocked just about 1,050 hours of flying.
"Holding that HAL's build quality is not up to the mark, Rolls-Royce has downgraded the TBO (time between engine overhauls) of the Hawk AJTs being made by the PSU to 1,200 hours from 2,000 hours," said a source.
But HAL dismissed such claims. "With the court of inquiry into the Hawk crash yet to be finalized, HAL cannot be blamed for quality issues at this stage. The reduction of TBO to 1,200 hours from 2,000 hours is not true," said a senior HAL official.
"The engine life roadmap for restoration to 2,000 hours has been provided by Rolls-Royce based on mid-level inspection, and components are getting certified for 2,000 hours," he added.
But the fact remains that HAL has faced flak over the years for its poor product quality and maintenance as well as huge time and cost overruns in projects ranging from the 16-year-delay in the now-defunct Sitara intermediate jet trainer to the light utility helicopters.
HAL, now faced with losing its monopoly in the domestic aviation sector, and its primary customer, the IAF, have not had the best of relations over the years. But neutral observers say the two urgently need to come together to resolve all outstanding issues dogging the country's air combat power.
The two, for instance, need to work closely with their Russian counterparts to resolve the quality, spares and maintenance issues enmeshing the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets. Only half of the 195 Sukhois inducted - HAL is manufacturing most of the 272 Sukhois contracted from Russia for over $12 billion - are operational at any given time since the fleet serviceability rate is down to just 55%.
Similarly, the Hawk issues also need to be sorted out on a war-footing. After decades of sounding the alarm over obsolete trainers for its cadets, the IAF had finally begun to induct the Hawk AJTs from November 2007 onwards. The AJTs provide the "requisite transitional training" for rookie pilots to graduate from sub-sonic aircraft to supersonic fighters, some of which like the single-engine MiG-21s are "highly-unforgiving" to pilot errors.
An Indian Air Force fighter trainer aircraft crashed in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district — 350 km from Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday. Two pilots, who ejected out of the plane, were reported to be safe.
Since the Hawk A-3492 crashed in a paddy field about 200 metres from human habitation around noon, there were no reports of any civilian casualties or loss of property. The incident took place at Kudarsahi village under the Bisoi police station limit in Mayurbhanj district.
The plane was completely gutted in fire. “We had sent fire tenders to the spot. The fire had been extinguished. Two pilots were safe. They have been given primary treatment at local hospital,” said Asit Panigrahi, Inspector-General (Eastern Range).
Mr. Panigrahi said the IAF authorities had been informed about the incident through proper channel. One of the pilots suffered injuries on his face. Local police sources said the pilot was probably hit by an object while landing by parachute.
Unconfirmed sources said three planes had taken off from the Kalaikunda Air Force Station from neighbouring West Bengal. The Identity of the pilots could not be ascertained.
Meanwhile, another IAF plane landed at the accident site.
HAL production under lens after Hawk trainer crash
Production quality of the country's only aircraft manufacturer, defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), is once again under the scanner after the crash of a Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) last month.
Sources said "quill-shaft failure" in the engine has emerged as the prime reason behind the crash of the twin-seat Hawk AJT, which went down in Odisha while on a training sortie from the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal on June 3. Fortunately, the two pilots managed to eject safely.
HAL is tasked with manufacturing 99 of the 123 Hawks ordered from BAE Systems, with transfer of technology, in the overall AJT project already worth well over Rs 16,000 crore till now. But the entire endeavor has been marred by politico-bureaucratic apathy, poor long-term planning, flawed multiple contracts and delayed delivery schedules.
As it is, the crash of an AJT, which is meant to be a robust fail-safe flying machine to train rookie pilots in the intricacies of combat flying, is startling. But what has further raised eyebrows is that the ill-fated Hawk, with a Rolls-Royce engine, had clocked just about 1,050 hours of flying.
"Holding that HAL's build quality is not up to the mark, Rolls-Royce has downgraded the TBO (time between engine overhauls) of the Hawk AJTs being made by the PSU to 1,200 hours from 2,000 hours," said a source.
But HAL dismissed such claims. "With the court of inquiry into the Hawk crash yet to be finalized, HAL cannot be blamed for quality issues at this stage. The reduction of TBO to 1,200 hours from 2,000 hours is not true," said a senior HAL official.
"The engine life roadmap for restoration to 2,000 hours has been provided by Rolls-Royce based on mid-level inspection, and components are getting certified for 2,000 hours," he added.
But the fact remains that HAL has faced flak over the years for its poor product quality and maintenance as well as huge time and cost overruns in projects ranging from the 16-year-delay in the now-defunct Sitara intermediate jet trainer to the light utility helicopters.
HAL, now faced with losing its monopoly in the domestic aviation sector, and its primary customer, the IAF, have not had the best of relations over the years. But neutral observers say the two urgently need to come together to resolve all outstanding issues dogging the country's air combat power.
The two, for instance, need to work closely with their Russian counterparts to resolve the quality, spares and maintenance issues enmeshing the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets. Only half of the 195 Sukhois inducted - HAL is manufacturing most of the 272 Sukhois contracted from Russia for over $12 billion - are operational at any given time since the fleet serviceability rate is down to just 55%.
Similarly, the Hawk issues also need to be sorted out on a war-footing. After decades of sounding the alarm over obsolete trainers for its cadets, the IAF had finally begun to induct the Hawk AJTs from November 2007 onwards. The AJTs provide the "requisite transitional training" for rookie pilots to graduate from sub-sonic aircraft to supersonic fighters, some of which like the single-engine MiG-21s are "highly-unforgiving" to pilot errors.
