ISLAMABAD: The Indian Air Force is poised to temporarily ground its entirefleet of 38 Tejas MK-1 light combat aircraft after one of the jets crashedduring a display at the Dubai Airshow on Friday , killing the pilot andshocking onlookers.
Defence ministry sources in New Delhi confirmed that a Court of Inquiryheaded by an Air Marshal has been constituted immediately to determine theexact cause of the structural failure or engine malfunction.
Until the inquiry submits its preliminary findings, expected within fewdays, all operational and training flights of the indigenous Tejas MK-1 maybe suspended across squadrons.
The grounding news comes at a sensitive moment for Hindustan AeronauticsLimited, which is ramping up production of the improved MK-1A variant undera ₹48,000 crore contract signed earlier this year.
Industry experts note that fleet-wide grounding after a single catastrophicincident is a procedure worldwide in special cases , as seen with the F-35after engine fires and the Boeing 737 MAX following the Lion Air andEthiopian crashes.
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The Dubai crash has cast fresh doubts on the reliability of the GeneralElectric F404 engine and the airframe integrity of the current Tejas batchdelivered between 2016 and 2023.
Source:www.thehindu.com/news/national/tejas-crash-dubai-airshow-iaf-grounds-fleet/article68901234.ece”>https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tejas-crash-dubai-airshow-iaf-grounds-fleet/article68901234.ece
Source:www.janes.com/defence-news/air/indian-air-force-suspends-tejas-operations”>https://www.janes.com/defence-news/air/indian-air-force-suspends-tejas-operations