Crashed Mirage 2000's black box to be sent to France to ascertain cause of mishap

New Delhi, Feb 6: The black box of the Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft, which crashed in in Bengaluru on February 1 leaving two pilots dead, would be sent to France for analysis so that exact reason behind the crash can be known.

Samir Abrol, 32, and Siddhartha Negi, 31, were on a test flight in their upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter jet when it crashed during the take-off at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airstrip on February 1. Squadron Leader Siddhartha Negi and Squadron Leader Samir Abrol were from Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.

The French origin trainer aircraft, manufactured by Dassault Aviation, was on an acceptance sortie after being upgraded at HAL.

The state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) makes and upgrades aircraft for training and combat operations of the IAF as the country's sole defence behemoth. It also maintains and operates the military airport in Bengaluru.

It may be recalled that in June 2018, a pilot was killed after an Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet crashed soon after taking off from the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat.