Investigation claims dozens of lapses on Saras during its test flight

The investigation report of the Saras Light Transport Aircraft (LTA) crash revealed dozens of lapses including an insufficient pre-flight debriefing, a poor telemetry system and lack of crew coordination.

According to a news report by The Hindu, indigenously developed light passenger aircraft Saras had crashed because of incorrect flight procedures set by its designer and adopted by the crew.


The probe report, prepared by a board constituted by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said: "Incorrect relight [restart] procedure devised by the designer and adopted by the crew… [led to] abnormal behaviour of aircraft [and] resulted in the accident." The report was made public on the DGCA website on Thursday

The aircraft crashed on March 6, 2009 near Bidar in the southern state of Karnataka. It killed all three crew members on board.

The report also highlighted that Saras-specific intentional engine shutdown and relight procedure was not well planned and prepared. Lack of crew coordination was also one of the main reason for the crash.

NAL has also faced criticism for inadequate documentation of safety and emergency procedures. The aircraft was developed by the government's National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore.