Navu’s Mig 29k crashes off the coast of Goa

On Wednesday, a Mig 29K was returning to base when the aircraft experienced a mechanical issue and crashed over the coast of Goa. A quick search and rescue effort resulted in the pilot’s safe ejection and recovery. According to a Navy official, the pilot is said to be in stable condition.

The aircraft was on a routine sortie.

A Board of Inquiry has been appointed to look into the incident’s cause.

An Indian Navy pilot named Nishant Singh perished in 2020 after his Mig-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea. Prior to the 2020 crash, two Mig-29 collisions on February 23, 2020, and November 16, 2019, were reported. In 2018, an Indian Mig-29K suffered its first loss.

The Mig 29Ks are the naval fighters of the Indian Navy which were procured from Russia to operate out of INS Vikramaditya.

A CAG report revealed that 40 out of the 65 engines received by the Navy had defects and the pilots noted problems with the aircraft’s fly-by-wire system. The availability of this aircraft remains at almost 40%.

Thus the Indian Navy has turned its head towards the US and France to acquire new carrier-based fighters to operate out of INS Vikrant and replace the crashed Mig 29ks. In this competition, the Americans offered their F/A 18 Super Hornet and the French offered their Rafale-M.