Air Force sending crashed Mirage 2000 black box to France

New Delhi: India is sending to France, the black box of the ill-fated Mirage 2000 which crashed in Bengaluru and claimed the lives of two pilots, to ascertain the reasons for the mishap.

IAF pilots Squadron Leaders Siddhartha Negi and Samir Abrol lost their lives when Mirage 2000 crashed at the HAL airport after the aircraft allegedly experienced a technical snag immediately after takeoff.

“To be sure that data is safe and sound we are sending it to France,” top IAF sources told ANI.

Sources said an IAF officer would take the black box of the plane to France where the designated agency will take out the data from it and would ascertain the reasons for the crash.

The black box of the aircraft would be required to be dealt with carefully as it has also suffered some damage and
needs to be handled with care, the sources said.

The IAF has also nominated Air Vice Marshal Tiwari of the National Flight Test Centre to ensure a fair probe in the court of inquiry being conducted jointly with the HAL.

Sources in the Air Force said the crash happened right after the plane was upgraded by the HAL.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]