What's new

IAF lost 19 planes, 11 copters in three years

In 2012 I believe it was the IAF recorded the best flight safety record in its history with 0.22 per 10,000 flying hours- very much in line with flight safety rates of modern Air forces.

One cannot point to one single factor as the sole reason for this success as it is very much a contribution of factors- improved ground/preventative maintenance (IAF has upgraded their BRDs, MRO capabilities in India have improved and work with OEMs on reducing crashes has increased), improved training of the IAF's human element (both pilots and ground crew have access to far improved training aids from simulators to improved training modules and such not to mention the phasing out of older, crash prone, air frames (MiG-21s/27s) and replacing them with modern birds (MKI, PC-7 and HAWK AJT).

This ghost will finally be laid to rest once all MiG-21s and -27s are out of service and replaced by the modern and safer LCA and Rafale. The crash rate towards the end of this decade should be very low...

It also could mean that certain intense flying hours have been reduced for types now fully inducted into the fleet.
MKI fighter jocks still log more hours on their birds (270-300 range) than most of their contemporaries in Western AFs and an IAF and the mandatory number of hours flown by rookies on the Hawk AJT have actually increased in the past 2 years not reduced.
 
. .
They would if they come with new work disciplines & methods implemented into the production lines & staffing.
the discipline and SOP should be independent of the aeroplanes. I have a problem with accepting that its entirely pilot error that has caused such a big number of loss. IAF is flying numerous and different kind of aircrafts fore decades .. its not something which is possible with pilots who lack something that can be described as training and discipline.
 
.
Wow India made achievement. Is there any Guinness book records for highest crashes?
 
. . . . . . .
Not necessarily, since not all of the losses were caused by technical issues, but also by human error and that can happen with modern fighters of course too, just as it happens in other forces around the world.
What the opening article however does not say (maybe because it's not a sensation), that the number of losses is reducing every year:

2012 report to Lok Sabha - 33 x fighters lost in 3 years = 11 per year
2013 report to Lok Sabha - 29 x fighters lost in 3 years = 8.25 per year
2014 report to Lok Sabha - 19 x fighters lost in 3 years = 6.3 per year

Good work by MoD and IAF I would say!
What was the comparative ratio of flying hours achieved for each year.
For example, aircraft remain grounded without meeting the required hours of flying may suffer less attrition but at what cost.
 
.
blaming pilots is just so wrong

eackhadm74lc9738398.gif
 
.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom