Two fuel tanks fall off flying MiG-29, Navy orders probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 29

A minor fire broke out on the runway of the Indian Naval Air Station, Dega, Visakhapatnam, today when a fuel “drop tank” of a MiG-29K fighter jet got jettisoned accidentally during takeoff.

Minutes later, the second fuel tank of the jet dropped in the parking lot of the headquarters of the local unit of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The Navy has ordered an inquiry.

A spokesperson for the Eastern Naval Command said there was a minor fire on the runway but it was put off by the ground support crew.

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“Nobody was injured in the incident. There was no damage to the runway or the aircraft,” the official said. 

The “drop tanks” are not integral to the body frame of the plane and can be attached and removed depending upon the range of the mission. These act as range extenders for the jets, which operate out at sea and can land and take off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

The accident occurred when the twin-engine MiG-29K was taking off on a routine training sortie from the east coast city. The fuel tank laden with aviation fuel fell off, causing a fire on the runway of the naval base. The pilot was asked to jettison the second fuel tank at sea to maintain balance as a full fuel tank under one wing of the jet could make it unstable to land. The pilot expended the fuel but the tank was not jettisoned due to a hydraulic malfunction. As the pilot approached the runway for landing, the second fuel tank fell off, landing inside the CISF facility.

Last month, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report had questioned the safety of the plane. Forty-five aircraft and associated equipment were ordered at a cost of $2.2 billion (Rs 14,000 crore) in two tranches in 2004 and 2010.

The CAG said the aircraft was riddled with problems relating to airframe, its engine (RD MK-33) and also the fly-by-wire system. “The aircraft is being technically accepted despite having discrepancies/anomalies,” the report said. (With agency inputs)