A Navy MiG-29k fighter jet on a routine mission on Saturday crashed after an engine failure due to a bird hit in Goa on Saturday morning. The two pilots ejected safely.
About noon, the aircraft encountered a flock of birds after take-off from the naval air base at Dabolim, the Navy said in a statement.
“The pilot observed that the left engine had flamed out and the right one had caught fire. Attempts to recover the aircraft by following the standard operating procedures were unsuccessful due to the nature of emergency,” the statement said. The pilot, showing huge presence of mind, pointed the aircraft away from populated areas and both pilots ejected safely.
Capt. M. Sheokhand and Lt. Cdr. Deepak Yadav were recovered and safe, the Navy stated. Tthere had been no loss of life or damage to property on ground.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the two pilots after the incident. “It is a matter of great satisfaction that they managed to eject in time and both of them are safe. I pray for their good health and wellbeing,” he said in a tweet.
A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been instituted to investigate the cause of the accident.
India had procured 45 MiG-29K carrier-based fighters from Russia. They currently operate from Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and in future will fly from the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant once it enters service.
