The Indian Navy’s MiG-29K trainer aircraft crashed into the sea on Thursday after which one pilot has gone missing and one pilot has been rescued, officials said. 

The naval force on Friday confirmed that the accident occurred at 5 pm on Thursday.

“One pilot recovered and search by air and surface units in progress for the second pilot,” officials said.

An inquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident, Navy officials said, adding that more details about the crash are awaited.

The officials confirmed that the jet had taken off for a sortie from India’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. 

MiG-29K - the Russian-origin fighter planes - operate from the deck of INS Vikramaditya, which had taken part in the recent Malabar naval drills involving the Quad navies of US, Australia, India and Japan in the northern Arabian sea.

The Indian Navy also plans to deploy these fighters on the indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC), Vikrant, being built at the state-owned Cochin Shipyard.

Source: Hindustan Times

BDST: 1350 HRS, NOV 27, 2020
AP