New Delhi Defence Minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that of the 872 MiG aircraft purchased by the government till 1980, 482 planes have crashed so far, killing 171 pilots and 39 civilians.
The causes of the accidents were both human error and technical defects, Antony said.
Dubbed “flying coffins” or “widow makers” in the Air Force, India’s ageing collection of MiGs has long been unpopular with airforce pilots.
The recurring crashes had sparked a spirited campaign in 2003 by a killed pilot’s relatives who wanted the war jets to be scrapped. This campaign, in turn, inspired the Aamir Khan-starrer Rang De Basanti in 2006.
02/04/12 Mumbai Mirror
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