Indian Navy search and rescue teams continued their efforts on Saturday to locate a pilot who disappeared after a MiG-29K training aircraft crashed in the Arabian Sea two days ago, but the crews were unsuccessful. move forward, officials familiar with the developments said. on Saturday.
The Russian-sourced two-seat training plane crashed off the west coast of India on Thursday after taking off from the deck of India’s only aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya. While rescue teams were able to recover one of the pilots on Thursday, the second pilot, identified by the navy as Commander Nishant Singh, cannot yet be traced.
“More warships, planes and helicopters were put into action on Saturday to intensify the search. No luck yet, ”officials said.
Thursday’s accident was the fourth accident involving the MiG-29K maritime fighter fleet.
While the cause of the accident is not yet known, India’s main auditor had found deficiencies in the cover hunt in 2016. These included problems with the engine, problems with the aircraft structure, and deficiencies in its fly-by-wire system.
Meanwhile, a witty letter written by the missing pilot to his commander-in-chief about his decision to marry that had gone viral earlier this year appeared again on social media after news of the crash broke.
Singh wrote to his CO: “I’m sorry to be dropping this bomb at you in such a short time, but as you would agree, I intend to drop a nuclear on myself and I realize that just like all split second decisions in the air in the heat of combat, I cannot afford the time to reassess my decision. ”
The letter written by the accomplished naval aviator on May 9 was widely circulated on social media platforms. The letter was peppered with military jargon.
Referring to the dating period, Singh wrote that following the successful completion of three years of extensive compatibility and survival testing (SCTT) trials, he and his fiancee had mutually reached an agreement that they could spend the rest of their lives. without killing each other.
“I officially seek your approval to willingly sacrifice myself in times of absolute peace, completely out of the line of duty, and to follow you and many other brave men in this spiral of cemetery marriage,” he wrote.
The navy commissioned its first squad of MiG-29K fighters in Goa in May 2013, prior to the induction of INS Vikramaditya.
India has so far purchased 45 MiG-29K fighters from Russia. The navy also plans to deploy the fighters on the indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) that is being built at the Cochin state shipyard.
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