MiG 29K aircraft on training sortie crashes near Goa, pilot ejects safely

A MiG-29K aircraft belonging to the Indian Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Goa at about 10.30 on Sunday morning, Navy personnel said.

The pilot managed to eject safely out of the aircraft, a Navy spokesperson said, adding that a probe has been ordered into the incident.

The MiG-29K was on a “routine training sortie” when it crashed off the Goa coast, he said.

“The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely and has been recovered. An enquiry to investigate the incident has been ordered,” the spokesperson said in a tweet.

The twin engine, single-seater aircraft developed a technical snag due to which it crashed, he told news agency PTI.

The aircraft had flown from the INS Hansa base at Vasco in South Goa.

This is the second such incident of a MiG-29K aircraft in Goa in the last three months.

On November 16 last year, a MiG-29K trainer aircraft had crashed after a bird hit, outside Verna village in South Goa district. The aircraft had crashed soon after it took off from the Dabolim International Airport.

Both the pilots had then ejected safely after both the engines of their jet failed.

According to data tabled in the recent Budget session of the Goa Assembly, every ten days, at least one aircraft landing or taking off at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport faces danger involving birds or stray dogs near the runway.