Introduction
MiG 29K, The twin seater trainer jet of Indian Navy, crashed into the Arabian Sea moments after taking off from Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya at around 5pm on 26th November. Amongst the two pilots, one ejected in time and was later rescued by the rescue team. The other, Commander Nishant Singh, was believed to be missing until 7th December when his dead body was found after an intense war scaled operation search of 11 days.
Description
The aircraft was returning to its Home Base of INS Hansa in the western state of Goa after participating in the MALABAR exercise in Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. The exercise was a part of the QUAD group involving Australia, US and Japan. It crashed into the sea moments after taking off the aircraft carrier. As per officials no distress call was made by the pilots indicating the sudden nature of the crash. An investigation has been initiated in this matter.
This crash was one in the long series of crashed involving MiG 29 and was the fourth such crash of Indian Navy's fleet since 2018. Earlier in the year another MiG 29 crashed in Goa while conducting a routine sortie. MiG 29 along with MiG 21 have earned quite a "reputation" in recent times. A 2016 CAG Parliamentary report had questioned its reliability. It pointed out deficiencies in its airframe, engine and fly-by-wire system. The report also pointed out at its poor serviceability.
Despite India's attempts to modernize its fleet of aircrafts, this accident has acted as a harsh reminder to Indian authorities to quicken up the pace to avoid further loss of manpower and resources.
