Indian Navy RPA crashes during take off

Kochi: A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) of the Indian Navy crashed during take off just outside the Naval base here today, a Defence spokesman said.

No casualties were reported. The incident occurred this morning when the Israeli-made pilotless aircraft took off from the Naval airport here for a routine sortie, he said.

The crash occurred due to technical reasons, he said  “A remotely piloted aircraft ‘Searcher’ on a routine surveillance mission crashed north of the naval airfield INS Garuda after take off at 10:25 am,” a Defence release said.

“However, there has been no casualty or damage to property. A Board of Inquiry as been constituted to investigate the cause of the accident,” it said. The spokesman said the crash has not caused any damage to the runway.