An Indian Navy MiG-29K aircraft, on Wednesday, suffered a horrific accident while taking off from the Goa airport. Reportedly, the plane got off from the runway track while taking off. The under-trainee pilot on-board had to save his life ejecting out of the plane. This incident caused Goa airport to be shut down due to the ongoing firefighting operations being carried out on the runway. The aircraft caught fire after crashing at the end of the runway.
The Mikoyan MiG-29K is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan design bureau. Notably, in a 2016 report, India’s national auditor CAG criticized the aircraft due to defects in engines, airframes and fly-by-wire systems. This is the first accident involving the MIG-29ks.
#TNExclusive: Mig29K aircraft with under-trainee pilot goes off the runway while taking off at Goa airport as the Pilot ejected to safety pic.twitter.com/iugr1F2gcX
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 3, 2018
The Navy operates 45 MIG-29ks in service and fly off the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. A Court of Inquiry (CoI) will determine the cause of the accident.
(More details are awaited on the incident)