Bengaluru, Feb 1 (UNI) Two Indian Air Force Pilots were killed when a fighter Miraj-2000 went into flame after a crash at HAL Air Port, in the outskirts of the city, on Friday.
Sources said that, immediately after the crash, both the pilots ejected themselves to safety, but unfortunately pilot Sqn Ldr Siddarth Negi died instantly after ejecting from the
aircraft as the aircraft was flying on low altitude, while another pilot Sqn Ldr Sameer Abrol succumbed to injuries at Military Commando Hospital in the City.
The crashed Mirage had just been upgraded by HAL and the pilots were on a routine training sortie and the fighter jet allegedly crashed due to a technical glitch. The fighter jet flying at a low crashed within the HAL airport and luckily there were no civilian casualities.
The two pilots were highly acclaimed flying experts working in Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) is a premier establishment in Indian Air Force (IAF) based in the city, which conducts flight testing of aircraft.
A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
Incidentally, it was Sqn Ldr Siddarth Negi's birthday today.
The upgraded Mirage 2000 is called Mirage 2000/I TI (India/Trainer India). The original Mirage 2000 had the designation Mirage 2000 H/TH (Hindustan/Trainer Hindustan).
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