Bikaner MiG-21 mishap claims pilot's life
Aging MiG-21 fighters, which virtually have the highest landing and take-off speed in the world at 340kmph, have snuffed out another young life in IAF.
By Rajat Pandit, TNN | Updated:
NEW DELHI: Aging MiG-21 fighters, which virtually have the highest landing and take-off speed in the world at 340kmph, have snuffed out another young life in IAF.
Flying Officer Suraj Pillai, 24, was on a training mission when his MiG-21 went down at the Nal airbase near Bikaner in Rajasthan on Tuesday. Still to fully learn the intricate art of combat flying, which is inherently dangerous, Pillai apparently overshot the runway during "the landing phase". He had no time to eject safely.
The first supersonic fighter to be inducted by India in 1963, the MiG-21's track record has been besmirched by a high crash rate. Pillai was flying a "Type-96" variant of the MiG-21s, the four remaining squadrons of which retire in another couple of years.
Flying Officer Suraj Pillai, 24, was on a training mission when his MiG-21 went down at the Nal airbase near Bikaner in Rajasthan on Tuesday. Still to fully learn the intricate art of combat flying, which is inherently dangerous, Pillai apparently overshot the runway during "the landing phase". He had no time to eject safely.
The first supersonic fighter to be inducted by India in 1963, the MiG-21's track record has been besmirched by a high crash rate. Pillai was flying a "Type-96" variant of the MiG-21s, the four remaining squadrons of which retire in another couple of years.
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