Another MiG goes down, pilots die

A trainer variant of the MiG 21 fighter jet crashed today near the Bagdogra air base in Siliguri, killing both the pilots.The aircraft broke...

A trainer variant of the MiG 21 fighter jet crashed today near the Bagdogra air base in Siliguri, killing both the pilots.

The aircraft broke into pieces over an uninhabited area of a tea garden, 12 kms from the base, as it was about to land after a 20-minute routine training sortie early morning, Darjeeling SP Sanjay Chander said.

IAF officials said the aircraft was part of a three-aircraft formation in air that ran into bad weather. While one was diverted, another managed to land but the third one ran into low clouds.

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According to IAF officials, the pilots ‘‘could not fathom the correct altitude’’. The pilots were identified as Wing Cdr N. Dogra and Flying Officer S. Chauhan.

In Delhi, Defence Minister George Fernandes blamed the crash on ‘‘misjudgment of altitude by the pilots due to thick clouds’’. He clarified that this was the IAF’s initial assessment and a local commander’s report was awaited. ‘‘The Air Chief feels that the two pilots were unable to eject. They spoke to the air traffic control on how to approach the landing but were closer to the ground.’’

He said that an expert team, including Russian technologists, has not found any defect in the MiG fighters. ‘‘So far, they have not been able to pinpoint any defect which could be the cause of these accidents,’’ Fernandes said.

IAF spokesman P.K. Dhingra said a court of inquiry has been ordered. Sixteen IAF fighters have crashed this year, 11 of them being MiG 21s. Fernandes said the AJTs will take three years to come even if orders are placed today.

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Villagers were drawn to the wreckage by the loud explosion after the crash.

Trees and tea bushes within a radius of 500 meters were charred, electric poles uprooted and wires snapped. ‘‘A major disaster was averted as the tea garden workers had not started work,’’ said a senior police official.

A MiG 21 of the Bagdogra air base had crashed near Phansidewa in Siliguri in July but the pilots had bailed out.