Team Herald
VASCO: A MiG-29K aircraft of the Indian Navy, which was on a routine training sortie on Sunday morning, crashed off Goa coast into the Arabian Sea, due to technical snag. However, no casualties were reported.
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In an press release, the Defence Ministry stated that the pilot of the MiG-29K aircraft ejected safely before the crash and was rescued. An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered.
The Ministry further stated that the MiG-29K aircraft was on a routine training sortie at around 10.30 am when it developed a technical snag and crashed.
It may be recalled that in November 2019, another MiG-29K aircraft had crashed on the outskirts of Verna, and a major tragedy was averted as the pilot pointed the aircraft away from the populated areas. Even then, both the pilots namely Captain M Sheokhand and Lt Commander Deepak Yadav had ejected safely. Soon after the aircraft took off on a training mission, the crash occurred when the left engine flamed out while the right engine of the aircraft caught fire due to a bird hit.
In January 2018, another MiG-29K aircraft had veered off the runway and crashed inside the INS Hansa base. The trainee pilot managed to eject safely from the aircraft, which caught fire. The arrival and departure of civilian flights at the Dabolim Airport were delayed due to the incident.
