IAF grounds six MiG-21 squadrons

After a spate of MiG-21 accidents, the Indian Air Force has grounded six squadrons comprising 72 of these fighters.
The action came hours after one of the jets plunged into a bank building near Jalandhar on Friday, killing eight people. Engine failure was cited as the reason for the crash.

The grounding would not affect operations of the IAF which is in a state of high alert in the wake of the military standoff with Pakistan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy told newsmen.

Comprehensive checks on the Type 75 variant of the MiG-21 Bis series have been ordered after two of these aircraft suffered sudden "engine flameouts" in the last one month, he said. He also announced that a court of enquiry will give its report in 10 days. The Fighters which have been grounded are all equipped with Russian R-25 engines, which also powers the newly upgraded MiG-21-93 which have just entered service. Krishnaswamy said that similar checks would be undertaken on the modernised MiGs.

Quoting the preliminary report of Flt Lt S K Nayak, the pilot, who bailed out safely, the Air Chief said the aircraft suffered engine failure within five minutes of take-off from Adampur Airbase. The crash data recorder had been recovered from the wreckage and it would give clues to the causes of the crash, the IAF chief informed.
Bureau Report