New Delhi (Sputnik) — A brand new Su-30MKI crashed in the southern Indian city of Nasik during a pre-delivery test flight on Wednesday morning. The aircraft was solely built by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) at its Nasik facility. A defense ministry official said that both pilots ejected safely before the accident.
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"The aircraft crashed at 11:05 am and the police received information about the crash at 11:15 am," a defense ministry official told media.
Currently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has around 240 Su-30MKI aircraft. It had contracted for 272 aircraft from Russia for $12 billion, the bulk of which were locally produced by HAL under license.
Both pilots survived but minor injuries while parachute landing in Sukhoi SU30 MKI crash near Ojhar HAL Base #Nashik being shifted to Hospital @eSakalUpdate @IAF_MCC @saamTVnews @SakalNashik #SU30MKI pic.twitter.com/5CKgRbGAxK
— Shrimant Mane (@ShrimantSakal) June 27, 2018
Earlier this month, an IAF Jaguar fighter jet crashed in the Mundra district of Kutch in Gujarat, while last year in May, two pilots lost their lives when one of the IAF's frontline Sukhoi jets crashed near the border with China.
