IAF MiG-21 Bison crashes in Rajasthan; pilot ejects safely
Confirming the crash, the IAF said a Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been established to ascertain the cause.
A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in the western sector on Wednesday, with the pilot ejecting safely from the fighter. According to reports, the accident took place in Rajasthan’s Barmer.
“At around 1730 hours today, an IAF MiG-21 Bison aircraft airborne for a training sortie in the western sector, experienced a technical malfunction after take off. The pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to ascertain the cause,” the IAF shared on its official Twitter handle.
The accident occurred near Bhurtiya village under the Sadar police station area, Barmer’s Superintendent of Police Anand Sharma said, adding that no civilian casualty took place due to the crash. Images on social media showed the pilot lying on the ground, but safe, surrounded by villagers. In one of the images, smoke can be seen billowing, while in another, some huts can be seen on fire.
This is the fourth accident involving a MiG-21 Bison this year, and second to have occurred in Rajasthan. That crash, the first this year, and in which the pilot ejected safely, took place on January 5 near Suratgarh in the western state. The second, in which a group captain lost his life, took place in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on March 17. The third, meanwhile, was reported from Moga in Punjab on May 20 and claimed the life of its pilot, a squadron leader.
The IAF operates four squadrons of the MiG-21, with the strength of each squadron ranging from 16-18. The jet, India's longest-serving fighter plane, has seen more than 400 accidents in the last six decades in which more than 200 pilots have lost their lives. This has resulted in MiG-21 fighters being given sobriquets such as the "Flying Coffin" and "Widow Maker."
The air force, which received its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, has, since then, progressively inducted more than 800 variants of these Soviet-origin supersonic fighters. Among these variants, of which there are 874, more than 60% were license-produced in India.
The last of these upgraded MiG-21s are likely to be phased out in the coming three to four years.
(with agency inputs)
