A new video has emerged of the final maneuver of the Indian Tejas fighter jet that crashed at the Dubai Air Show on Friday.
The video below shows the fighter moving smoothly until it begins to give up altitude. It then crashes and smoke can be seen billowing from the craft:
The incident alarmed the Indian defense community and Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd) said it had “shook the whole system”.
Speaking to ANI, Kapoor said, “The unfortunate crash of Tejas a while back in Dubai actually shook the whole system… The reasons could be mechanical. The reason could be a malfunction of the fly-by-wire or any control surface. The sabotage angle would also be looked into by the court of inquiry team. The FDR and CVR would be extracted… and to say that what could be lost in weapons. is very sad…”
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which makes the Tejas fighter jets, also condoled the death of IAF pilot Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash.
HAL said in an X post: “HAL is deeply saddened by the loss of a brave IAF pilot during an air display at the Dubai Air Show. HAL extends its sincere condolences to the bereaved family.”
Why did the plane crash?
The exact cause of the crash has not yet been revealed. Defense expert Capt Anil Gaur (retd) said the incident could have occurred because the pilot lost control or had a blackout due to the g-forces at play.
Speaking to ANI, he said: According to the visual footage, it appears that the jet lost control during an aerobatics or the pilot may have lost control. Blackout here means excessive gravitational force.”
“Pilots wear G-suits to prevent blood pooling in their legs; there could have been a problem with that. What exactly happened can only be determined after the cockpit data is obtained. My condolences to the pilot’s family,” he added.
An eyewitness who attended the airshow told Reuters the plane flew for eight to nine minutes and completed two or three laps before crashing.
“When it hit the ground, I saw three different fireballs,” he said. “Everybody in the crowd got to their feet and then in maybe 30 seconds the emergency vehicles rushed to the scene of the crash.”
