BIDAR: THE Indian Air Force has lost its brand new Hawk-132 trainer aircraft which crashed soon after taking off from Bidar Air Force Station on Tuesday.br /br /The two pilots in the aircraft, which was recently acquired from Britain to improve flight safety record, bailed out safely.br /br /In an embarrassment to the IAF, the aircraft has been lost just a couple of months after it was inducted at an elaborate ceremony attended by Defence Minister A.K Antony and top officials of British Aerospace Systems, the maker of Hawk.br /br /The IAF said an enquiry has been ordered to investigate the reasons for the accident. Sources said the rate of climb severely diminished and the aircraft made contact with the ground in the vicinity of the airfield.br /br /As it took barely a few seconds for the aircraft to come down, only one of the two pilots managed to eject. The other one remained trapped in the aircraft but is said to be safe.br /br /The IAF kept the accident under wraps for more than 24 hours as it was officially announced only on Wednesday that the aircraft has been lost.br /br /The IAF said no person was injured or killed as a result of the accident and there was no damage to civil or other property.br /br /Hawk-132 was specifically made for India to train IAF pilots in handling advanced fighter jets. The IAF had bought 66 Hawks from BAe systems out of which eight have arrived. The aircraft are based in Bidar.br /br /The need to buy an advanced trainer was felt more than two decades ago to curtail high accident rate of the IAF. The IAF fighter pilots train on MiG-21s, a relatively difficult machine to handle.br /br /The accident of Hawk has raised serious questions about the safety aspect of the aircraft.br /br /The induction has not been without teething problems. There were complaints about the availability of spares as a result of which the aircraft were even grounded for a brief period.

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