Pilatus PC-7 Mk II crash: 5 things to know about the trainer aircraft

This is the first crash involving the aircraft since it was inducted into the Air Force almost a decade earlier, having clocked around 2 lakh hours of flying time since then.

A Pilatus PC 7 Mk II aircraft met with an accident today morning during a routine training sortie from AFA, Hyderabad. It is with deep regret that the IAF confirms both pilots onboard the aircraft sustained fatal injuries. No damage to any civil life or property has been…

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 4, 2023

Here are 5 things you need to know about the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II trainer aircraft.

1. What is a trainer aircraft?

A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. Modern military aircraft are notoriously difficult to master for rookie pilots. Hence, they must first be trained on other, more basic aircraft. Trainer aircraft are far more forgiving than the aircraft military pilots will eventually fly — they fly slower, have less complex systems, and are designed to be resistant to and recoverable from stalls and spins, a common challenge for rookie pilots. They are also much cheaper, allowing air forces to buy them in bulk to train cadets.

2. How many types of trainer aircraft does the IAF have?

Currently, there are 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II aircraft in service with the IAF (including the one which crashed today. These are used for basic training, the first stage in a rookie cadet’s flight training.

After this, cadets graduate to the HAL Kiran, an intermediate jet-powered indigenously developed trainer aircraft, followed by the BAE Hawk, a British jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Currently, the IAF has 78 Kiran and 102 Hawk aircrafts in its fleet.

In addition to this, the IAF, Navy, and National Cadet Corps also operate the Pipistrel Virus, as a basic trainer for Flight Safety and Air Wing Cadets. Currently, 194 of these aircraft are in service, with 72 with the IAF.

3. What kind of an aircraft is the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II?

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland, which specialises in producing short take-off and landing aircraft, as well as trainer aircraft for air forces across the world.

The PC-7 is a low-wing, turbo-prop aircraft with tandem seating (the cadet sits in the front, the instructor behind him). While the original aircraft has been in service since the 1970s, the Mk II version was introduced in the 1990s, with a newer airframe and more advanced avionics. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney turbo-prop engine, it has a maximum speed of 412 km/h and can fly to a height of slightly more than 10,000 m. It has a range of 1,200 km without external tanks, which translates to slightly more than 4 hours of flying time.

It is (or has been in the past) used as the ab initio (literally, the first aircraft a cadet flies after training on simulators) trainer by over 20 air forces in the world. Moreover, the likes of Chad, Iran, and Mexico have used the aircraft for combat operations as well.

4. Why did the IAF obtain the PC-7 Mk II?

The IAF procured 75 of these aircraft under a contract signed in 2012, to meet the critical shortage of trainer aircraft urgently needed to carry out the basic flying training for its pilots. The shortage emerged after the indigenously developed HPT-32 aircraft were grounded in 2010, after fatal crashes which killed multiple IAF pilots, including two experienced instructors.

All the 75 Pilatus aircraft were delivered between 2013 and 2015 by the Swiss manufacturer, with the IAF having an option to make an additional purchase of 38 more aircraft. However, this contract was not signed after the Defence Ministry blacklisted the Swiss firm for a year in 2019, on corruption charges, which the Ministry claimed was crucial to Pilatus bagging the Rs 2,800 crore deal in 2012. This ban was partially lifted a few months later, to allow the IAF to maintain its fleet of 75 basic trainer aircraft.

5. Will the PC-7 Mk II be replaced by the IAF anytime soon?

In March, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to procure 70 HTT-40 at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore.

Designed indigenously at HAL’s Aircraft Research & Design Centre, the HTT-40 is a basic trainer aircraft powered by a four-bladed turbo-prop engine (PC-7 is three-bladed). The aircraft will have an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling (with engines running), and zero-zero ejection seats.

The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered over a period of six years.