NEW DELHI - The crash of an Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi Su-30 combat jet in Rajasthan this April, the first accident involving the plane since it was inducted 12 years ago, was caused by the failure of its sophisticated fly-by-wire system, parliament was informed Wednesday.

The preliminary investigation into the accident reveal that the reason for the crash… is likely failure of the fly-by-wire system, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

There is no indication of any serious problem in the maintenance of aircraft by the IAF or any short supply of hardware as the cause of the crash, he added.

Each accident is investigated through a court of inquiry and remedial measure are undertaken accordingly to check their recurrence in future, the minister pointed out.

The crash had generated much heat in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, prompting Antony to intervene and state that the IAF was “very happy” with the aircraft.

“The Su-30 is one of the most advanced jets in the world. The IAF is very happy with it. The IAF feels it is one of the best in the world,” Antony said.

“Was it a case of a wrong pilot in a right plane?”, “Has the black box been sent to England?”, “What precautions were taken before take-off?”, “Did the pilots report a malfunction?”, “What is the state of investigations?” were some of the questions asked but not all were answered.

Answering the main question, Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju had said the Su-30’s black box had been “badly damaged” and efforts were underway to retrieve the data contained in it.

The jet’s pilot, Wing Commander S.V. Munje, and the co-pilot, Wing Commander P.S. Narah, had managed to bail out in time but the latter was killed after being apparently hit by the falling debris of the aircraft.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Naik is on record as saying that the ejection mechanism of the rear seat may have been faulty.

The Su-30 was inducted in 1996 and the IAF fleet currently comprises 98 aircraft. This will rise to 230 by 2015.

Of the Su-30s in the IAF fleet, some were bought in flyaway condition from its Russian manufacturer while state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured the others under licence. It was not clear which category the crashed jet belonged to.

The Su-30 has won universal acclaim from the air forces of the US, Britain and France whenever it has been fielded against them in war games. Eight Su-30s had participated in the prestigious Red Flag exercise with the US Air Force at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, last year and had more than held their own against their counterparts’ F/A-18 and F-16 combat jets.