The debris of the Sukhoi 30MKi at the crash site near Pune on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Dec. 13: A frontline Sukhoi 30 MKi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed near Pune this afternoon, the 10th crash of an IAF aircraft this year.

The pilots, Wing Commander G.S. Sohal and Flight Lieutenant U. Nautiyal, ejected safely. They had taken off from the Lohegaon base of the IAF in Pune at 12.45 in the afternoon. The aircraft crashed at 1.10pm.

This is the third Sukhoi 30 Mki — the most modern aircraft in the IAF’s fleet of fighters — to crash. Two had crashed in April and November 2009.

A Sukhoi 30 Mki would cost upwards of Rs 120 crore. The IAF currently has six squadrons (about 120) of the aircraft. It is in the process of inducting nearly 300 since the first contract with the Russians in 1997.

IAF sources said a court of inquiry was ordered to determine the cause of the crash. The first crash in April 2009 was attributed to a technical glitch. The cause of the second has not yet been made public.

This year, five MiG-21s, two Jaguars, a MiG-29 and a Kiran have crashed.

Defence minister A.K. Antony said in Parliament yesterday that 30 fighter aircraft have crashed in the last three years.

The causes of the crashes are categorised under human (pilot) error and technical defects.

“The inexperience of pilots is not one of the major reasons for aircraft accidents in the IAF. Nevertheless, steps have been taken by the government to train pilots to prevent accidents due to human error,” Antony said.

The defence minister said the IAF has formed a multi-disciplinary study team on aircraft accidents.

Among steps taken to reduce pilot error are an increased use of simulators and aviation psychology courses for trainees.

Sixteen of the 30 crashes in the last three years were MiG-21s, the oldest of the fighter aircraft.

A total of 26 military personnel and six civilians were killed in the crashes.