Guwahati: Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets were inducted in 2002. Since then, there have been 13 known crashes of the jets in India, of which, four occurred in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in the past decade.Disturbingly, of the five pilot fatalities recorded nationwide since then, four were in two crashes in these two northeastern states — the latest being Thursday’s crash in Karbi Anglong district, where both pilots Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar lost their lives.
Thursday’s fatal crash in Karbi Anglong has revived memories of the first deadly accident involving the fighter in the northeast nearly nine years ago.On May 23, 2017, Squadron Leader D Pankaj and Flight Lt S Achudev took off from the Salonibari air base in Tezpur on a routine training mission. Their aircraft, part of a two-jet formation, lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station about an hour later near Arunachal Pradesh’s Doulasang area, adjoining the China border.The disappearance triggered a massive search. After three days of aerial reconnaissance, wreckage was spotted in a dense forest about 60 km from Tezpur. The grim recovery effort revealed personal belongings — a blood-stained shoe, a half-burnt PAN card and a wallet — pointing to the fate of the crew. The fighter’s black box was recovered a few days later, and the bodies of the two pilots were found eight days after the crash.In May 2015, the first Sukhoi crashed at Laokhowa in Assam’s Nagaon district. Both pilots on a routine training sortie ejected to safety.Four years after the first crash in the region, another Sukhoi fighter jet went down while on a routine training mission near Tezpur. On Aug 8, 2019, the aircraft crashed into a paddy field in the Milanpur area shortly after take-off from the Salonibari air base and burst into flames. Both pilots managed to eject safely, though one sustained a leg injury.These repeated accidents underline the challenges of flying in the northeast’s difficult terrain and weather conditions, compounded by the intensity of training sorties close to the border.The Indian Air Force maintains three operational bases for Su-30MKIs in the northeast — Salonibari (Tezpur), Chabua (Dibrugarh) and Jorhat — collectively housing four squadrons. The three bases are located just about 150 to 250 km from the China frontier aerially and are considered one of the most strategically sensitive air stations in the country.The Su-30 fighter jets first entered service with the Russian Air Force in 1994, as a versatile, twin-engine jet designed for all-weather combat. For India, the journey began with a pact in 1996 to acquire 140 aircraft, of which 90 were to be licence-produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). By 2000, development of the India-specific variant — the Su-30MKI — started, tailored to meet the operational needs of the Indian Air Force and the first fleet was inducted in 2002.
