A high-level investigation has been ordered to investigate the incident (Representational)
New Delhi:
Various parts of a MiG-29K training aircraft have been found that had crashed in the Arabian Sea earlier this week, the Indian Navy said in a statement on Sunday. While one pilot was rescued, the other has yet to be found despite a massive search operation, he added.
“Some debris from the aircraft has been located, including the landing gear, the turbocharger, the fuel tank engine and the wing engine cover,” the Navy statement read, adding that the search for the second pilot , Cdr Nishant Singh, is in progress.
The Navy has lobbied nine warships and 14 aircraft in the search operation. The locals have also been informed about the missing officer.
“Rapid interceptor vessels of the Indian Navy are also deployed to search the waters along the coast. In addition, marine / coastal police are on the lookout and nearby fishing villages have been sensitized,” the force said.
The MiG-29K aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea on Thursday night after taking off from the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier.
After the incident, the Navy launched an extensive search and rescue operation to locate the missing pilot.
A high-level investigation has been ordered to investigate the incident.
It was the third accident involving the Mig-29K plane in the past year, the PTI news agency reported.
The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multi-role fighter jet developed by the Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG). The Indian Navy had acquired a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia at a cost of around $ 2 billion to operate from INS Vikramaditya.
With PTI inputs
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