New Delhi, March 21
In yet another MiG crash, a trainer version of Mig-21 fighter aircraft crashed soon after getting airborne from Uttarlai airbase in Rajasthan with two pilots on board.
"The aircraft crashed near Uttarlai village in Barmer district at 3.35 p.m. in an open field. The names of the pilots, who have died in the incident are yet to be verified," the IAF spokesperson, Wing Commander M Upasani, told The Tribune here.
He said, the fighter was on a routine flying-training mission when it crashed soon after getting airborne.
Though the MiG-21 is a single-seater fighter, the plane which crashed was carrying two pilots as it was a trainer version, he said.
The bodies of the pilots were found near the crash site by rescue helicopters. "So far no damage has been reported on the ground as the fighter crashed in an open area", he said.
The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to find out the cause of the accident. "A team of the Directorate of Flight Safety has already left for the scene of the incident to conduct the inquiry," he said.
The ill-fated aircraft was one of the older versions which are progressively being phased out.
