MIG crash-lands in Bagdogra airfield, pilot safe

Siliguri: A MIG-21 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Friday crash-landed at the Bagdogra airfield, but the pilot was safe.
The aircraft was returning from a training sortie when its undercarriage failed to come out and the fighter had to virtually make a belly crash-landing at 9:15 am, sources said.
While landing, the aircraft also caught fire and three fire-tenders fought for about half-an-hour to douse the blaze, according to IAF Group captain M K Dey.
The pilot was safe, Dey said.
The debris of the fighter was on the Air Force side of the airbase, so all civilian flights to Bagdogra remained unaffected, police sources said.
The MIG fighter was of type 77 make which are in the process of being phased out. This is the second crash of a MIG-21 aircraft this year.
A MIG-21 aircraft crashed near Bhuj airbase on February 15. However, the pilot managed to bail out safely.
23/05/08 PTI/The Hindu

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Categories: Airports May 2008, Safety May 2008