Six Indian Air Force (IAF) officers and a civilian were killed after a Russian made Mi-17 chopper crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam, Jammu & Kashmir, at 10.05 am on February 27, 2019. The incident happened on the same day when a MiG aircraft, a MiG-21 Bison jet flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was shot down by a Pakistani Air Force F-16 in an aerial dogfight that ensued after they intruded into Indian territory in J&K.
The jet flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan was part of the fleet that is well past its retirement age and has been kept operational with repeated upgrades and service life extensions. Failures due to old system components increase with ageing of aircrafts. However, as system components have a longer life potential than the life of a certified aircraft, service life extension programmes are carried out to maximise the use of the equipment.
also read BJP Launch nationwide "Vijay Sankalpa rally" bike Rallies from MP’s Shahdol, today
A Russian designed supersonic jet fighter, the MiG-21 is what Maruti Suzuki is to Indian automobile industry. MiG-21s have been the most accident-prone of all IAF fighter jets, thus earning the names "flying coffin" or the "widow maker”.
Today, 113 MiG-21s are known to be operational in the IAF. And since 1963, more than 1,200 MiG fighters have been introduced into the IAF. Thirty one fighter squadrons are currently operational in the IAF according to this Lok Sabha response by the ministry on January 1, 2019. In the past six months, two MiG fighters of the IAF have crashed with one casualty on November 28, 2018. With another MiG-21 crashing last week, this takes the number to three.
also read Mehbooba Mufti "crackdown" tweet on the separatist group Jamaat-e-Islami
However, MiG-21 can pull out an ambush style of attack which gives a maximum speed of 1,350 mph. This makes it a particularly difficult aircraft to manoeuvre because of its high-speed landing. And, the design of the window canopy means they can't see the runway properly.
