A MiG 29K fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed over the sea on Wednesday while it was on a routine sortie off the Goa coast.
The pilot has been recovered and is stable. “The twin-engine MiG-29K crashed over the sea after it developed a technical malfunction while returning to base. The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation. He is reported to be in stable condition,” the Indian Navy said.
The Navy said it has ordered a Board of Inquiry (BoI) to investigate the cause of the incident.
The Indian Navy is the world’s only operator of the MiG-29K fighter aircraft, acquired from Russia along with Admiral Gorshkov renamed INS Vikramaditya in India.
The safety record of the MiG-29Ks has not been very good. The force is now looking at the procurement of 25–26 foreign fighter aircraft for operations from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, commissioned recently by the Prime Minister in Kochi.
The MiG-29s are deployed in Goa at the naval base INS Hansa.
