MiG-21 plane crashes again; pilot ejects to safety

A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force on Friday crashed near Bagdogra in West Bengal minutes after take-off but the pilot ejected to safety. The pilot, Squadron Leader Rahul Tiwari, had taken off from Bagdogra airbase on the Russian-origin fighter jet. Within minutes, he reported trouble in the aircraft.

The mishap took place at approximately 3.50 pm, seven km away from Bagdogra airfield, Indian Air Force officials said. Soon after the crash, an IAF rescue team on a Chetak helicopter flew to the accident site and rushed the pilot to a nearby military hospital, the officials said. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident, they added.

The sources said prime facie, it appears that the jet developed a technical problem soon after take-off. This is the second mishap involving an IAF plane this year.

On Tuesday, a MIG-27 fighter jet had crashed near Hashimara airbase, just a few kilometres away from Bagdogra. However in that incident, the pilot Wing Commander Oswald was killed.

Last year, the Indian Air Force had recorded 11 air mishaps, of which five involved MIG-21 aircraft. The MiG aircraft had earned the sobriquet of a 'flying coffin' in the late 1990s following a series of crashes. However, to prove its worth, the then defence minister George Fernandes had flown in the aircraft in 2003.