IAF''s MiG-21 aircraft crashes in Rajasthan''s Bikaner; pilot safe
Yash Goyal
Jaipur, March 8
A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on a routine sortie on Friday crashed at Shobhasar area near Bikaner around 1.30 pm.
The plane crashed after it reportedly suffered a bird hit, Defense PRO Col Sombit Ghosh said.
The accident occurred immediately after the aircraft took off from Nal airport of the IAF, 10 km away from Bikaner, said the IGP, adding there was no loss of life or property as it was a barren land where the plane crashed.
Col Sombit Ghosh said a MiG-21 aircraft on a routine mission crashed after getting airborne from Nal near Bikaner.
Initial inputs indicated that the likely cause was a bird hit after the takeoff.
The cause of the accident will be probed, he said.
A colonel will investigate the cause of the accident, he added.
This was the third MiG crash in Rajasthan since September 4.
A MiG-27 aircraft on training mission crashed near Pokhran range of Jaisalmer district on February 12, 2018.
Another MiG 27, which was on a routine sortie from Jodhpur air force station crashed at Jaleli-Faujdar village under Dangiawas police station on September 4.
The MiG-21 fighter jet has been in the news recently after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was flying a similar aircraft, shot down a Pakistani F-16 before crashing in Pakistan.
The MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, in the erstwhile Soviet Union.
