Shortly before the disaster, the Light Combat Aircraft TEJAS was executing a difficult manoeuvre involving negative G forces during an aerobatic show at the Dubai Air Show.
The aircraft reached a downhill portion of a loop and experienced a sudden loss of altitude while trying to level out, according to eyewitness accounts and video evidence from the incident. There was limited room for recovery due to the brief interval between the movement and the hit. The pilot, an experienced Indian Air Force officer, suffered fatal injuries after failing to eject in time.
Negative G in aviation describes a situation in which the forces operating on the aircraft and its occupants are in opposition to the force of normal gravity. The pilot feels as though they are lifted out of the seat or are weightless during an inverted manoeuvre or negative G turn.
Blood tends to rush to the brain, causing physiological stress that might affect reaction time and eyesight. Strong situational awareness, accurate control inputs, and a great deal of expertise are needed in these situations. During a high-performance performance, even minor errors might quickly become deadly.
Developed as India’s first domestic multirole fighter, the TEJAS is intended to be aerodynamically unstable in order to improve responsiveness and agility. However, in order to maintain stability during flight, this instability necessitates a complex fly-by-wire system that continuously performs fine control adjustments.
The technology ensures stability even during extreme movements by substituting computer-mediated directives that interpret the pilot’s inputs for conventional mechanical controls. Abrupt changes in pitch or roll during a negative G manoeuvre could result from any abnormality in the flight control software, sensor input, or g-loading.
Early data suggest that during the aircraft’s recovery from the loop, it might have entered a zone of high angular momentum or low energy. An unrecoverable descent could result from such circumstances, which could have decreased available lift or delayed control response.
Such scenes are carefully prepared and practiced in air shows, as pilots push the boundaries of performance to wow the audience. However, even little mechanical or atmospheric changes might disrupt the desired trajectory, particularly in manoeuvres that require quick changes between positive and negative G.
The TEJAS involved in the collision were part of a squadron stationed in Sulur, Tamil Nadu, and had been in active duty since 2016. When compared to older platforms like the MiG-21, the aircraft type has been well recognised for its exceptional safety record and dependability.
In more over 20 years of service, there had only been one crash before to the Dubai tragedy. More than 20 years had passed from the aircraft’s first flight in 2001 when that earlier accident occurred in Jaisalmer in 2024, a record that was favourable to the aircraft’s operational maturity and design.
The Indian Air Force views the loss in Dubai as an uncommon and unfortunate incident that happened while performing international demonstration duties. As a notable illustration of India’s aerospace capabilities, TEJAS had been participating regularly at air exhibitions and joint exercises.
All facets of the accident, including flight data records, pilot inputs, system performance, and potential environmental factors, will be examined in the current investigation. Investigators will also take into account the interactions between pilot workload, flight control algorithms, and cockpit awareness in the seconds leading up to collision.
The incident highlights the intricacy and dangers associated with high-energy operations, even if the complete picture won’t be revealed until a thorough technical inquiry is completed. It also emphasises the accuracy needed to control flight control limitations and negative G exposure in unstable-platform fighters.
The loss is a melancholy reminder to India’s aerospace sector that even aircraft with excellent safety records are nonetheless susceptible when performing at the highest levels.
