Indian Air Force Has Lost 18 Men And 10 Jets In Nine Mishaps This Year So Far

2019 is shaping up to be one of the deadliest years on record for the Indian Air Force (IAF). With nearly six months to go in this year, there have been a total of nine incidents where an IAF aircraft was involved in a crash.?

In the latest incident, an AN-32 with 13 people on board, including eight crew members and five passengers went missing on June 3 after taking off from Jorhat in Assam.

The wreckage of the Russian-made twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft was located in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday, eight days after it went missing.

Before that, on March 31 a MiG 27 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Jodhpur in Rajasthan but the pilot ejected safely.

The MiG 27 UPG jet had taken off from Uttarlai air force base and the jet experienced engine problems leading to the crash at around. This was the second crash of an IAF jet in same months. Earlier on March 8, an IAF MiG-21 crashed near Nal in Rajasthan. The pilot had ejected safely.??

But February was the deadliest month for IAF in 2019 and saw five crashes and lost six aircraft.?

It all began on the 1st of February when a Mirage 2000 crash in Bengaluru killing both pilots on board. The trainer aircraft, which was recently upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, crashed soon after taking off at the HAL airport resulting in the deaths of Sqn Ldr Siddartha Negi and Sqn Ldr Samir Abrol.?

On February 12 a MiG 27 fighter aircraft crashed in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer while on a training mission near the Pokhran range. The pilot of the crashed MiG 27 jet ejected on time and was safe.

This was followed by a freak incident on 19 February when two Hawk jet aircraft of Surya Kiran was involved in a mid-air collision ahead of Aero India show in Bengaluru. The Surya Kiran jets crashed while rehearsing for the air show at the Yelahanka Air Base in Bengaluru. Three pilots were on the two Surya Kiran Hawk jets that collided and crashed. One pilot died while the other two managed to eject safely.

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On February 27 IAF lost two fighter jets on the same day in two different incidents. A day after the IAF carried out the air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan the PAF retaliated with an invasion of the Indian air space.??

During the confusion, a Mi-17 chopper was shot down in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam killing six Air Force officers and a civilian. Later it turned out the Mi-17 was downed by friendly fire and officials responsible are likely to face action.

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On the same day, another MiG-21 Bison flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down by PAF during a dogfight. Though Abhinandan managed to eject on time he landed on the other side of the border and was captured.?

In January, a Jaguar aircraft of the IAF had crashed in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district soon after taking off. The pilot ejecting safely.