Aircraft crashes into lake, pilots safe

CHENNAI: A basic trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force that was preparing for landing at Tambaram Indian Air Force Station on Tuesday, crashed into the Ayya-nchery lake, 30 km from here. There was no casualty as the pilots ejected to safety at the last moment.The aircraft, a Kiran Mark II, which left the airbase for a routine flying exercise, co-uld not make proper landing owing to a technical snag, IAF officials said.Considering that landing in thickly populated areas would result in civilian casualty, the pilots — Wing Commander C G Deepak (flying-instructor) and Squadron Leader K P Singh — decided to guide it to the nearest waterbody Ayyanchery lake, a senior IAF officer said. While Squadron Leader Singh’s chute got tangled in a Low Tension wire of TANGEDCO, Wing Commander Deepak parachuted into a mango tree at the hou-se of Raviprakash in Narmada Nagar. After the pilots contacted base, two choppers evacuated them. They were admitted to the Military Hospital. Kancheepuram police said, Singh had sustained a minor injury to his hip while the other had bruises.Meanwhile, Several teams from the IAF cordoned off the lake to recover the wreckage. The first blade was recovered at 1.20 pm with the help of the local police, two groups of fire tenders and a rented earthmover. The operation lasted till 5 pm before it was called off due to bad light. One wing was yet to be recovered. While a team from IAF’s investigation agency is expected to inspect the wreckage, a press release said that a court of inquiry had been ordered into the incident.According to the complaint from the revenue department, the crash was reported at 10.15 am. Had the pilots not guided the aircraft to the lake, civilians in 200 dwellings around the lake would have been in danger.Revenue department officials used a public address system to ask the public to stay away from the lake.This was the second crash of a Kiran Mark II in two years. In March 2010, an aircraft of the same make had crashed at an air show in Hyderabad, killing its crew.