Commander Nishant Singh | Image tweeted by @CaptDKS | Photo credit: Twitter
Key points
- The MiG-29K training plane with two pilots on board crashed in the Arabian Sea on November 26.
- One pilot was recovered the day of the accident, but another has since disappeared.
Panaji: Almost 12 days after the tragic MiG-29K crash in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy recovered the body of the missing pilot Commander Nishant Singh on the seabed on Monday. The body was found 70 meters underwater and 30 miles off the coast of Goa.
According to officials, “The body of Commander Nishant Singh, a missing MiG-29K pilot, has been recovered by the Indian Navy on the seabed 70 meters underwater. It has been found 30 miles off the coast of Goa after an exhaustive search. The plane crashed on November 26 while operating over the Arabian Sea. “
The training plane operating from the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea had suffered an accident around 5 pm on November 26.
Of the two pilots who were on board the aircraft, one was recovered the day of the accident and the other has since disappeared. The search operation by air and surface units was launched for the second pilot.
In an official statement, a Navy spokesperson said search and rescue (SAR) efforts by Indian Navy ships and aircraft to locate the second pilot of the MiG-29K training aircraft, which left Goa on 26 November, they have been underway in the past. ten days.
So far, aerial searches by MR aircraft and helicopter departures have been conducted for a total of 270 hours.
Underwater searches have been conducted around the crash site in the past ten days, including extensive dives by saturation divers and continuous searches at night with an HD camera.
All sections of the aircraft wreckage, including the ejection seats, have been accounted for through the use of side scan sonar and HD cameras. The FDR / CVR along with other important material have thus far been recovered for analysis / investigation.
The mortal remains of a human body have been recovered in the vicinity of the scene of the incident. Samples are sent for DNA testing to confirm identity.
