Two Hawk advanced jet trainers of the Indian Air Force’s Surya Kiran aerobatics team collided on Tuesday during rehearsals, killing a pilot and exploding when it hit the ground in an upcoming residential area full of highrises outside the Yelahanka IAF Station.
Two other pilots were injured. Video footage captured by unidentified spectators show the two planes shooting through the sky before crashing into each other, spiralling down and falling in a space between passenger aircraft and highrises, smoke filling the area.
The Surya Kiran does not have any combat role but this is the second crash in the same month. On February 1, two IAF pilots died when a Mirage 2000 crashed at HAL Airport, some 30km from the Yelahanka base.
