An Indian Air Force (IAF) advanced trainer aircraft crashed at Kudarsahi under the Bisoi police limits in Mayurbhanj district at about 11.30 am on Wednesday. The two pilots, Sachin and Siddhant, on board the BAE Systems Hawk advanced trainer aircraft (A 3492), however, managed to eject with the help of parachutes barely seconds before the plane crashed on to the ground and went up in flames.
According to Mayurbhanj SP Surath Chandra Mallick, one of the two pilots who sustained injuries on his head during landing was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Baripada.
Northern Range IG of Police Asit Panigrahi said the aircraft crashed in an agricultural field. The aircraft had taken off from the Kaleikunda airbase of the IAF in West Bengal along with two other aircrafts on a training sortie. Initial reports suggested that the crash was caused by ‘mechanical failure’, IAF sources said.
Senior IAF personnel from the base rushed to the spot of the mishap. An IAF aircraft went back after doing an aerial survey of the crash site. Fire brigade personnel from Bangiriposi rushed to the spot, barely 500 meters from the Bisoi police station and close to the National Highway, and put out the fire. But the aircraft was almost completely damaged by that time.
A 10-feet-deep crater was formed under the impact of the crash. Senior police officials have rushed to the site of the crash. Hundreds of curious onlookers have crowded the area.