Body of missing MiG-29 pilot found 11 days after crash

A body believed to be that of the missing MiG-29 pilot Commander Nishant Singh was recovered from the area where the plane crashed, Indian Navy officials said. However, the result of a DNA test to confirm that the body was of Singh, was awaited, they added.

Commander Singh had gone missing on November 26 after his MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea. Rescue teams were able to rescue the other pilot on board.

The Russian-origin twin-seat trainer jet went down off India’s west coast after taking off from the deck of the country’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

The November 26 crash was the fourth accident involving the MiG-29K maritime fighter fleet. India’s top auditor had pointed to some deficiencies in the deck-based fighter, including engine troubles, airframe problems, deficiencies in its fly-by-wire system and poor serviceability, in a report tabled in Parliament four years ago.

The MiG-29K is riddled with problems relating to airframe, RD MK-33 engine and its fly-by-wire system, Comptroller and Auditor Generalsaid in the July 2016 report.

(with ANI inputs)