Sukhoi jet mystery: Court of inquiry to investigate cause of accident

Tezpur (Assam): A Court of Inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident of an Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30 MKI jet that went missing with two pilots onboard four days ago.

The wreckage of IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI jet was found in thick forests around 60 kilometres from Assam's Tezpur, where it lost radar contact with the base.

The wreckage was found on Friday and ground parties are standing by to be airlifted to the crash site as the area is totally inaccessible.

"Wreckage found. Close to the last known position of aircraft. As of now, the weather is bad and the place has dense foliage. Further updates will follow," said the IAF in an official statement.

The search for flight data recorder and missing crew will be perused by ground parties after they reach the crash site.

Search parties of the Army are also attempting to reach the crash site by trekking cross country. However, their progress is hampered due to inclement weather, thick vegetation and steep gradient of terrain.

The jet lost contact on May 23 following which a massive search operation was launched to track the jet. However, bad weather acted as an impediment.

The aircraft was on a routine training mission as part of a two-aircraft formation.

The aircraft was declared overdue. Search and rescue operations were launched to locate the aircraft and the pilots.

The help from civil administration and military authorities was also sought to locate the aircraft. An aerial search was commenced based on the last known position of the Su-30 MKI.