Hormuz Mama/BANGALORE Howard Gethin/LONDON
A report from the Indian Government auditor general has severely criticised the safety record of the Indian air force and called for a major shake-up of the service's training system. It stops short of calling for a new advanced trainer, but gives the lack of such an aircraft as "the main reason for human error accidents".
The Defence Services Report notes that the air force's overall accident rate fell during 1991-7, but that, for fighters - particularly the Mikoyan MiG-21, which was licence-built by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) - it remained high.
Fighters accounted for 70% of accidents, with the MiG-21suffering a loss rate of up to 3.99/10,000 flying hours, compared to 3.53/ 10,000 for fighters overall. By comparison, in 1997 the UK Royal Air Force's Strike Command suffered a loss rate of 0.21/10,000 flying hours.
Although the report gives technical failure as the reason for 44% of accidents, the training system is particularly criticised. Air Force students fly an initial course on the HAL HPT-32 piston trainer, followed by a basic jet course on the subsonic, 400kt (740km/h), HAL Kiran or PZL Iskra. Jet candidates then progress direct to the Mach 2-capable MiG-21. In 1991-1997, the MiG-21 conversion unit had 11 accidents, three of them fatal. The unit's flight simulators have been unserviceable for long periods.
The air force has a long-standing requirement for an advanced jet trainer, but has never procured an aircraft, mainly as a result of funding shortages. Since the 1980s, the service considered a variety of contenders, led by the British Aerospace Hawk and Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet, but purchased neither. A Russian design, the MAPO MiG-AT has become a leading contender, although it is not yet in series production.
The commission also calls for the involvement of an independent agency such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation in accident investigation, which is of a low standard. Investigations often last years rather than months, and investigators are inexperienced, according to the report.
Source: Flight International
