Two pilots were killed in yet another MiG-21 crash involving the IAF on Thursday night when their fighter jet went down in Rajasthan's Barmer. Around 9.10 p.m., while flying at night, a twin-seater MiG-21 trainer that had taken off from the Uttarlai airstrip crashed close to the village of Bhimda. Both of the pilots died from their wounds. Images from the scene showed flames spreading out from the fighter's wreckage across a wide region.
At 9:10 pm this evening, an IAF MiG 21 trainer aircraft met with an accident in the western sector during a training sortie.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 28, 2022
Both pilots sustained fatal injuries.
In addition to speaking with IAF head Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari about the disaster, the IAF has appointed a court of inquiry to determine the precise cause of the crash. Since January of last year, at least six MiG-21 aircraft have crashed, killing five pilots.
#WATCH | Rajasthan: A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed near Barmer district. Further details regarding the pilots awaited pic.twitter.com/5KfO24hZB6
— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2022
Crashes killing military personnel in the recent times
In the last five years alone, at least 44 military personnel have perished in a total of 46 aircraft and helicopter mishaps. Particularly, the older MiG-21s of Soviet provenance, the IAF's first true supersonic fighters introduced in 1963, have had a high crash rate over time.
MiG-21s ought to have been retired a long time ago. The IAF still runs four MiG-21 squadrons (each with 16–18 jets) despite upgrading them to "Bison" standards because of the enormous delays in the introduction of new fighters, particularly the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA).
The MiG-21s were designed in the 1960s and are mainly devoid of contemporary equipment with built-in safety features while having the fastest landing and takeoff speed in the world (340 kmph).
