Plane safety: govt needs crash course

BANGALORE: The recent crash of a fighter plane in Jamnagar has confirmed that much of IAF’s MiG-raine is avoidable, inflicted essentially by government apathy. Cutting to chase, the MiG-21s’ notorious crash rate is clearly due to inexplicable delays in acquiring critical spares and Advanced Jet Trainers.
Sources confirm the government has been dragging its feet over the purchase of vital safety equipment, impacting directly on the performance of the ageing fighters."There is a particular class of procurement, critical to safety, which needs to be put on fast track," defence aviation experts said.
"They are forced to cannibalise engines, generators and all sorts of critical spare parts, imperiling the aircraft’s safety. You don’t change spare parts from one car to another, leave alone aircraft," IAF insiders said.
For a taste of the complacency, sample this. An official says the IAF has waited more than 10 years for 60 Crash Fire Tenders (CFTs). The CFTs in the IAF inventory are outdated and ineffective when it comes to handling emergencies. "Either they are not working or the water throw is not enough. They need to be replaced immediately.�
Even as debate rages on whether spares should be imported or indigenous, the government has ignored what is irrefutably its responsibility. Procuring aircraft and spares is clearly not the IAF’s headache.
Here is another shocking sample. Sources say the bodies of the two pilots who died in a MiG-21 crash two years ago at Tezpur are yet to be recovered. The rescue-and-detection equipment on-board that ill-fated fighter too remain untraced. Beeping beacons that guide rescue teams to crash sites are basic gadgets, but even these are not available to the IAF, an insider said. "It will never happen in any country with a modern air force."
Floats for surveillance helicopters, critical because many a time these helicopters are required to land on water, are not available either. "For years, the government has not procured them." The Arun Singh Committee that examined the reasons for high accident rates had recommended that the government must transfer procurement powers to the IAF. But the finance ministry has not relented.
The delay in the acquisition of a modern trainer aircraft in the Hawk class exemplifies the sort of government apathy that has plagued the IAF. When you have a modern aircraft with glass cockpits, you should have modern training systems as well. The IAF does not have even simulators or other modern equipment to train on the ground. "If there is government apathy, and excessive bureaucratic control, then the IAF leadership should fight it," say insiders.
A senior official wondered why there should be government control over contract for spares. "It is a shame that the Indian industry has not concentrated on developing the spares of an aircraft that has been flying since 1963. All these factors bring down the morale of our pilots."