In a major blow to India’s much-delayed project for indigenous fighters as well as their export potential, a single-engine Tejas jet crashed during a demonstration at the Dubai Airshow on Friday afternoon. The IAF pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, died in the accident.The Tejas Mark-1 fighter was on a low-altitude aerobatic demonstration sortie when it couldn’t recover from a “negative G-turn” and plummeted to the ground, exploding in a ball of fire in front of a large audience at the Al Maktoum International Airport at 2.10pm, local time.Wing Commander Syal was from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and was posted at TN’s Sulur IAF station. His wife is a retired wing commander. The couple has a daughter, who is seven years old.

This is the second crash of the lightweight multi-role Tejas, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics and powered by American GE-F404 turbofan engine, since it was inducted into the IAF 10 years ago.In the first crash near Jaisalmer on March 12 last year, the pilot had managed to eject safely. The jet was returning from the Bharat Shakti military exercise at Pokhran.Wing Commander Syal, an experienced fighter pilot, was not so lucky. He could not eject in time before the jet slammed into the ground. Since its 1st squadron was raised in 2016, Tejas has had an excellent safety record The pilot sustained fatal injuries,” an officer said. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry (CoI) to ascertain the exact reason behind the crash after coordinating with Dubai aviation authorities and recovering the “black box” of the ill-fated fighter. “It’s very difficult to say what led to the crash at this moment. It could be a sudden loss of power or control malfunction at a critical juncture,” said a veteran fighter pilot, who did not want to be named.“Pilots can also suffer spatial disorientation during negative G-turns when they push the controls forward to make their planes dive, though they are trained to manage and mitigate negative G forces,” he added.Defence minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply anguished at the loss of a brave and courageous IAF pilot”, adding the nation stands firmly with the bereaved family in this tragic hour. Military aviation is inherently dangerous, with fighters being pushed to their limits through extensive combat manoeuvres and low-level flying and diving missions.The 13.5-tonne Tejas so far has had an excellent safety track-record since its first squadron ’45 Flying Daggers’ was raised with only two jets at Sulur in July 2016 despite its torturous development saga and excruciating delays. Over the last few years, India has been deploying the fourth-generation Tejas Mark-1 jets for airshows in Dubai, Singapore and other places to showcase its “superior handling characteristics and manoeuvrability” through low-level aerobatics to an international audience in a bid to win export orders.IAF, however, has inducted only 38 Tejas Mark-1 fighters, with the second squadron ’18 Flying Bullets’ deployed at Naliya, of the 40 ordered for Rs 8,802 crore in the 2006-10 timeframe. “Three Tejas jets were sent for the Dubai air show for the No 45 and 18 squadrons,” another officer said. IAF has also ordered 180 ‘improved’ Tejas Mark-1A jets for over Rs 1.1 lakh crore, with the latest Rs 66,500 crore deal for 97 jets being inked in Sept this year. The force, however, is yet to begin getting Tejas Mark- 1A deliveries due to huge delays in supply of engines from the US as well as pending weapons trials.The trials involve Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, the advanced short-range air-to-air missiles and laser-guided bombs and their integration with Israeli-origin Elta ELM-2052 radar and fire control system.