NAL's SARAS aircraft project will not stop

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) would go ahead with its project to develop the 14-seater Saras aircraft despite the crash of the second prototype of the aircraft near Bangalore on Friday last.“We will continue with the project. We will not let the sacrifice made by the three crew members of the aircraft, who belonged to the Indian Air Force’s Airbone Systems Testing Institute, to go in vain,” said CSIR Director-General Samir K. Brahmachari.He told The Hindu that the first prototype of the aircraft would be modified and converted into prototype–3 and the scientists would carry forward the various tests required for certification by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation.Dr. Brahmachari, who visited Bangalore after the accident to take stock of the situation, said he had held discussions with the officers of the IAF and civil aviation authorities on the follow-up actions. The prototype-1 has completed around 160 test flights and the prototype-2 was on its 49th test flight when it crashed.A multi-role light transport aircraft, Saras is aimed at meeting the requirements of executive transport, air ambulance and other community services.It is designed to take off and land on short semi-prepared runways and fly up to a speed of 550 km per hour at a cruise altitude of 7.5 km.The accident came even as the Union Cabinet’s Committee on Economic Affairs recently revised the cost estimate of the CSIR’s scheme to design, develop and manufacture small civilian aircraft from Rs.96 crore to Rs.172 crore.