Posted on 02/23/2010 5:12:41 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The IAF has grounded its entire MiG-27 aircraft fleet for checks following last week's air crash near Hashimara in which an ace fighter pilot was killed.
It also ordered examination of the aircraft following preliminary report of the court of inquiry suggesting that the mishap could have taken place due to failure of "low pressure turbine blades", a problem tackled only at the overhaul or fourth line servicing stage.
"The MiG-27 aircraft are not flying till the checks ordered on the fleet are completed," a senior IAF officer said here on Monday.
The IAF flies around 160 MiG-27 swing wing aircraft used for both air-to-air and ground attacks in eight of the existing 33.5 squadrons.
Earlier in the day, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said that the failure of "low pressure turbine blades" was not in the realm of day-to-day base servicing, but was rectified only at the fourth line, overhauling stage.
He said further inquiry into the mishap that killed Wing Commander Oswald on February 16 was in progress.
Naik also said that when an air crash took place, it was not only a matter of grave concern for IAF and the nation, but it also caused "pain" as both an aircraft and a life were lost.
However, he said it was not possible to have "zero accident" rates, but maximum effort should be made to avoid demoralising of the forces when mishaps took place.
(Excerpt) Read more at brahmand.com ...
no comment
27’s are rugged but with lack of maintenance or shoddy construction, anything is possible.
The MiG-27 is a fairly old airplane, dont know how much time India has on theirs. The Mig27 is still good for its intended role however. In this case its engine failure back in the turbine that grounded the fleet.
Is there really an ace in the Indian Air Force or is the ignorance of newspaper writers pretty much universal?
Maybe the accelerator is sticking.
SnakeDoc
Probably the pilot killed in the crash wasn’t the 91 year old described in your article. Just a guess.
General Arjan Singh probably has a very cushy office in the Ministry of Defense.
At least at 91 he could have been an air ace. (WWII, Korea, Vietnam?) ;-)
...but wasn’t, apparently.
HUH, how can i get 33.5 squadrons from 160 airplanes? I always reckoned 10-12 planes per squadron.
There was a bug in the electronics that the Hindu mechanics wouldn’t get rid of...
The article says that there are 8 Mig-27 squadrons, so that means about 16-20 jets each, assuming that the number of Mig-27s in service are lower than 160 (which is indeed the case).
The IAF started inducting these in the 80s with most being license-built. There were proposals to re-engine the aircraft with the AL-31 of the SU-27/30 series.
160 MiG-21s. They also fly MiG-21s, MiG-29s, SEPECAT Jaguars, Mirage 2000s, Sukhoi Su-30s
That’s 160 MiG-27s
Re-engining would be a good place to start.
But the center wing box area and wing hinge areas are always areas to be concerned about on the aircraft when they start getting long in the tooth. As are the outer wing panels.
Take the retired F-14 for instance, once you peel the flaps and slats off, there was not a whole lot of primary structure out there.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=79501
Age would have been a factor to consider for a new engine. The type has received a limited avionics upgrade though.
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