New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: A MiG-29K fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed in Goa on Saturday after it took off for a training mission, reported news agency ANI adding that both the pilots ejected safely and a search and rescue operation is on.

"A MiG-29K fighter aircraft crashed in Goa soon after it took off for a training mission. Both the pilots have managed to eject safely. The aircraft involved in the crash was a trainer version of the fighter jet," ANI quoted Navy as saying. 

The MiG-29K fighter jet had taken off from INS HANSA at Dabolim in Goa. During the recovery, a bird hit right engine of the jet which caused and led to the crash of the MiG-29K. The fighter jet crashed in a safe area and no casualties, civilian or otherwise, have been reported. Further investigations are being done. 

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"The MiG-29K trainer aircraft suffered an engine fire. The pilots Captain M Sheokhand and Lt Commander Deepak Yadav ejected safely," ANI quoted India Navy Spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal as saying.  

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that he has spoken with the pilots. "Spoke to pilots, Captain M Sheokhand and Lt Commander Deepak Yadav. 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 well-being," Rajnath said in a tweet.

The Mikoyan MiG-29K is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau. It was developed in the late 1980s from the MiG-29M and the Mikoyan describes it as a 4+ generation aircraft.

In 2016, the MiG-29K fighter jet was heavily criticised by India's national auditor CAG due to defects in engines, airframes and fly-by-wire systems. The serviceability of MiG-29K was reported ranging from 15.93 per cent to 37.63 per cent being rejected/withdrawn from service due to design defects. These defects are likely to reduce the service life of the aircraft from the stated 6,000 hours.


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