Fuel drop tank from Tejas aircraft falls off from mid air, creates 3 ft long crater

Coimbatore: A fuel drop tank from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fell on an agricultural land during a routine sortie near Sulur Air Base here on Tuesday morning.

No one was injured in the incident, IAF said.

The fuel tank came down with a big thud leaving a three ft long crater in the farm land.

The fuel tank, with a capacity of 1,200 litres, got dropped and fell in a farm land at around 0840 hrs.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) in a statement said “today morning one fuel drop tank fell from a Tejas aircraft on a routine sortie from Sulur Air Base. The aircraft landed back safely and no damage was reported on ground”.

It said the cause of the incident was being investigated.

As the news spread, a large number of people thronged the spot.

Acting on information, IAF personnel from Sulur Air Base rushed to the spot and removed the broken tank. (UNI)