MiG 29K crashes over sea off Goa, pilot ejects safely

A MiG 29K fighter jet of the Indian Navy crashed off the Goa coast on Wednesday morning after developing a technical malfunction.

The pilot ejected safely, the Navy said.

The naval headquarters has ordered a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the incident.

"A MiG 29K on a routine sortie over sea off Goa developed a technical malfunction while returning to base. The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation," the Navy said in a brief statement.

"The pilot is reported to be in stable condition. The Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident," it said.

The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG).

The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia over a decade back at a cost of around USD 2 billion (one billion=100 crore) to operate from INS Vikramaditya.

In November 2020, a MiG-29K aircraft of the Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast after taking off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

A MiG-29K twin-seat fighter aircraft had crashed in South Goa district in November 2019 and both the pilots had ejected safely.

Another MIG-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast on February 23, 2020 after taking off from INS Hansa, a prominent naval air station at Vasco in Goa.

The pilot of the aircraft had managed to eject safely.