Concerned at the second Mirage fighter jet crash within a span of 10 days possibly due to engine failure the IAF has grounded the three squadrons of the aircraft in service. The aircraft will resume flying only after thorough checks are conducted.
Earlier on February 24, Air Officer Personnel Air Marshal Anil Chopra had a narrow escape as a Mirage aircraft piloted by a Commanding Officer of one of the squadrons went down in Madhya Pradesh after engine failure. The pilots were forced to eject after all attempts to revive the engines failed.
The official statement by the IAF said: " One Mirage 2000 aircraft of IAF crashed Appx 60 kms short of
Jaipur, in Dausa on Mar 05, 2012 at about 1230 hrs. The pilots, Squadron
Leader Raj and Flight Lieutenant Kanav who got airborne from Gwalior airbase
for routine flying sortie, ejected safely. There is no reported damage to
civil property or life. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate into
the cause of the accident."
However, after suffering eight crashes in 2011, including those of MiG-21s and frontline Sukhoi fighter jets, this second Mirage crash means the year 2012 has not begun on good note for the force. The IAF has already signed a contract for the upgradation of the 51 Mirages (now down to 49) in its inventory with the French aircraft maker Dassault.
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