Surya Kiran crash at Aero India

[Adam]

Two BAE Hawks of the Indian Air Force's main aerobatic team, Surya Kiran, crashed today during a practice display for Aero India. One pilot died, according to local media.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/two-air ... or-1995699

[RyanS]

Video of the collision:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=333883747232237

RIP

[Adam]

Of the two pilots who ejected, one had minor injuries and the other fractured both legs. Both jets crashed in a residential area (see tweet below) so it's very lucky there weren't more fatalities on the ground. Fortunately it seems the bulk of the wreckage landed in a field between houses. Some sites are now reporting that two civilians were injured

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/10977657 ... cc78ffdf9d

Apparently locals rushed to help the injured pilots when they bailed out, getting them water and keeping them talking until emergency services arrived.

This is SKAT's third fatal accident in the past 13 years, but their first since transitioning to the Hawk in 2015.

[Adam]

It seems the aircraft were flying directly one above the other while in their mirror formation, whereas they should have been offset laterally so they couldn't climb or decend into each other. What hasn't been mentioned is why the inverted aircraft suddenly decended onto the other (the inverted jet was leading the formation so perhaps was unaware of his wingman's positioning?), but had they been in the correct formation, the aircraft shouldn't have made contact.
https://theprint.in/defence/pilot-error ... sh/233069/