Pilatus PC 7 Mk Il Trainer Aircraft Crashes, Two Pilots Killed

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Two Indian Air Force pilots, including an instructor and a trainee, were killed after the Pilatus PC-7 Mk Il trainer aircraft met with an accident on Monday morning during a routine training sortie from Hyderabad-based Air Force Academy in Telangana. In a statement, IAF PRO Wing Commander Ashish Moghe said: "It is with deep regret that lAF confirms that both the pilots on board have sustained fatal injuries." He also said that there was no damage to any civil life or property, where the crash took place. For now, the exact reason behind the accident is not yet known. The force has ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident.

About the PC-7 MKII

Indian Air Force currently has a fleet of 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II aircraft, operating from Air Force Academy Dundigal as well as Flying Instructors School Tambaram. This is the first that any aircraft in the fleet met with an accident since its induction in 2013.
The then UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had signed a deal to procure a total of 75 aircraft from Pilatus, Switzerland, in 2012.
The IAF received the first batch of PC-7 MkII in February 2013. The PC-7 MkII fleet has facilitated a transformative evolution of training flying from the erstwhile HPT-32 aircraft.

The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer, a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft manufactured in Switzerland by Pilatus Aircraft, is employed for various training functions, including aerobatics, instrument, tactical, and night flying. Powered by the PT6A-25C engine generating 522 kilowatts (700 shaft horsepower), the PC-7 Mk II has a takeoff distance of 259 meters at sea level and a maximum speed of 555 kmph. With a glide ratio exceeding 12:1, the aircraft can cover two nautical miles on the ground for every 1000 feet of descent when gliding with a failed engine.

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