In a troubling incident, an IAF group captain was killed after his MiG-21 Bison met with a “fatal accident” in Central India on Wednesday. The Indian Air Force took to twitter to express their grief and condolences to the pilot’s family. According to the IAF, the accident took place when the MiG21 was taking off for a training mission at a Central India airbase.

Taking to Twitter, IAF reported the accident while expressing condolences with the pilot’s family members. The IAF tweeted, “The IAF lost Group Captain A Gupta in the tragic accident. IAF expresses deep condolences and stands firmly with the family members. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.”

This accident comes just a couple of months after another MiG 21 Bison aircraft crashed in Rajasthan’s Suratgarh while landing. After the mishap, the IAF reported that the pilot managed to eject himself out of the aircraft safely. On initial probe, the primary cause of crash was suspected to be technical malfunction.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian Air Force had said, “During a training sortie in the western sector, a MiG-21 Bison aircraft experienced a major technical malfunction this evening. The pilot ejected safely at about 8.15 pm. There is no loss of life,” the official Twitter handle of Indian Air Force tweeted.

According to the reports, the police reported that the pilot of the aircraft ejected about 3-acres from the airbase boundary wall as the fighter plane plummeted to the ground and exploded.

The Tainted History of the MiG21 Aircraft

A primarily Russian designed fighter jet, the MiG-21 for the Indian Air Force is what the Maruti Suzuki is to Indian automobile industry. However, the MiGs are known for being one of the most accident-prone fighter jets for the Indian Air Force. So much so, that it has earned names like “flying coffin” and “widow maker”.

In June 2020, the Defence Ministry approached the Parliament with the information that since 2016, a total of 27 Indian Air Force aircrafts have crashed. During 2016-17, 6 IAF jets, 2 helicopters, a transport carrier, and one trainer had crashed. In 2017-18, the 2 fighter jets were lost and one trainer aircraft was lost in crash.

Turning our eye to the MiGs, during 2010-13, 14 MiG-21s crashed, while during ‘15-’18, 24 IAF jets were lost in accidents and a death toll of 39 IAF personally was registered. If we talk about the human cost in these crashes, since 1970, India has lost more than 170 brave pilots and 40 civilians in fighter jet crashes. Unsurprisingly, most of these crashes, and the humans live associated to it have been attributed to MiG21. From the year 1963-2015, a total 210 MiG-21 related accidents were registered. According to Bharat Rakshak, an Indian Armed Forces database, 16 MiG-21 accidents took place in 1999 itself.

According to a 2012 India Today report, MiG aircrafts have led to the lives of 171 pilots, 39 civilians and eight persons from other related services. The cause of the accidents for most of these were reported to be human errors and technical deficits.

Defence Minister in a Rajya Sabha proceeding said how in the past 40 years, India lost more than half of its MiG fleet of the MiG-21 872 aircraft. Meanwhile, 482 MiG aircraft accidents took place till 2012, April.

The MiG-21 aircrafts are known for pulling an ambush style attack with its maximum speed of 1,350 mph. The fast speed makes the aircraft difficult to be maneuvered around. Moreover, the design of its window canopy makes it extremely difficult for the pilot to see the runway.

Other than MiG21s, the Indian Air Force have yearly lost several aircrafts and pilots. In 2019 itself, IAF reported multiple accidents and fatalities. On February 12, 2019, a MiG-27 fighter aircraft crashed in Pokhran tehsil of Jaisalmer. The aircraft was airborne from Jaisalmer and crashed during one of its routine mission. No loss of lives was reported as the pilot involved in the crash ejected safely.

On February 19, 2 Surya Kiran jets of the Indian Air Force collided mid-air at Bengaluru’s Yelahanka Airbase. The 2 jets crashed while they were rehearsing for the 2019 Aero India, an airshow that’s held every two years in Bengaluru. There were three pilots in the 2 jets that collided. While one pilot lost his life, the other two ejected safely.

On March 8, a MiG-21 fighter jet of the IAF crashed in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. No loss of life was reported in this accident as the pilot managed to eject safely. According to the initial investigation, the Indian Air Force reported that the accident was caused due to the fact that a bird hit the aircraft.

 

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