RUPEE NEWS: Recording History, Narrating Archives, Strategic Intellibrief Analysis: Noticias de Rupia | Nouvelles de Roupie | Rupiennachrichten | новости рупии | 卢比新闻 | Rupi Nyheter | ルピーニュース | اخبار روپیہ

پاکستان لڈجر| PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا | September 10th, 2008  | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |  | RUPEE NEWS | Moin Ansari | September 10th, 2008 | معین آنصآرّی | اخبار روپیہ |The IAF has the worst crash record on the planet. This is a world record. No other Air force has had the ignominious honor of so many crashes on non-battle conditions. The Indian press refers to the Mig 21 as the Flying Coffin, but they are all flying coffins or crematiion discs for the IAF pilots. There are have been more crashes of this aircraft than the entire airforces of more than half the world. The crash of the 500th plane serves as a milestone as the highest number of crashes of any airforce in the world in the history of mankind. The bulk of the Indian Airforce is made up of all this flying junk that succumbs to gravity more then the bellies in the Indian Lok Sabha.

• Indian Airforce crying wolf? or facing shortage of jets? 
• Indian misslefailures. Scrap the program?
• The declining Indo-Russian relationship. Delhi scrambles for new arms sources but they come with strings.
• Trail of tears and failure: Indian missiles.
• Air Forces in South Asia: PAF counters IAF strategy.

Indian MiG-29 crashes in Arabian Sea
NEW DELHI, Sept 1 APP: India Air Force lost another MiG-29when it crashed in the Arabian Sea off Jamnagar coast during a training mission on Monday. It was the fifth MiG- 29 which went down since June 2006 and the sixth air crash during this year. In today’s incident, pilot was safely ejected. Earlier, a MiG-27, two MiG-21s, a Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and a Kiran crashed this year while a pilot was killed in one of the crashes, a spokesman said. The Mig -29, an all-weather air superiority aircraft was on a one-on-one training sortie when the pilot lost control of the MiG-29 which crashed in the sea about 50 km off Jamnagar. The MiG-29 belonged to the 28 Squadron of the Indian Air force which took off from Jamnagar base. APP

So how many have crashed? Most analysist put the number higher than 500. Here is a 2003 report from the Hindu that list the number as 350. This India site which claims to have a 60% accuracy lists more than 1000 accidents and crashes (http://www.warbirds.in/Crashes/crpage.php?cur=250&qacid=AL&qafdb=IAF&datesall=ON&fmdate=&fmmonth=&fmyear=&todate=&tomonth=&toyear=) 

There have been over 350 crashes involving these aircraft in the last 13 years, with over 170 pilots losing their lives. These incidents have earned MiGs the notorious epithet “flying coffins”. (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/06/13/stories/2003061300010801.htm) This is a 2003 report from the Hindu which lists more than 350 crashes

The problem is not a new one. It is as old as the IAF itself.

In the early 1980s, the IAFdecided that it was facing unacceptably high levels of losses of both aircraft and fighter pilots and set up a committee under Air Marshal La Fontaine to study the problem. The committee submitted its report in 1984 saying that the accidents were a result of young pilots having to “convert onto” high performance MiG-21 fighters straight from basic jet training on the HAL Kiran or the PZL Iskra. The committee went on to recommend that the solution lay with introducing an advanced jet trainer to bridge the gap between the two stages. The Hindu 2001

It has been reported in the magazine “Indian Aviation” that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its 29th report to the Parliament on 21 March 2002 has called for immediate phasing out of the MiG-21 fleet of the Indian Air Force. Every year we hear that the Indian Airforceis going to scrap the Migs, but they keep flying (kind off). A BBC report in 2002 listed more than 250 crases. The real number is like 500 crashes, but the IAF does not admit to that number

The La Fontaine Committee in 1982 had discovered a noticeable correlation between the pattern of training and aircraft accidents. The committee had also pointed out that there exists a quantum jump in skill and judgement as the IAF had no suitable operational transitional trainer aircraft to fill the intervening gap before the pilots are taken to operational fighter aircraft. The government had committed in 1982 itself that it will buy Advanced Jet Trainers to replace MiG-21s and Hunter aircraft as trainers. But after almost two decades and hundreds of accidents killing several young pilots, the AJT remains a distant dream. In fact, a cruel joke. The Hindu 2001

So what are the real reasons behind the crashes? Most of it can be attributed to poor training and bad pilots.

A detailed analysis of MiG-21 accidents reveals that the main cause factors are:

• Human Error (Aircrew).

• Technical Defects.

• Bird Strikes.

Human Error (Aircrew) constitutes about 40 % of all accidents in the MiG-21 and this percentage is not high at all and almost all Air Forces in the world have about the same percentage of Pilot Error accidents.  In the words of ACM Tipnis, “MiG-21 is a high demand aircraft”. It certainly is a quantum jump for an inexperienced pilot who has just finished his training on sub-sonic jet trainers like Kiran or Iskra. IAF is using the MiG-21 in the AJT role, which is neither optimal for training nor cost effective. (See appendix 1 about Flying Training)

MiG-21, although a high demand aircraft, is docile and has no aerodynamic vices. It has excellent handling characteristics and has served to provide very valuable flying experience to a large number of IAF pilots. Some like the previous and the present CASswear by the aircraft. It is the docility of the aircraft that not only generates a good bit of confidence but also encourages forays into exceeding the limits of the stipulated flight envelope. In air combat maneuvers, many inexperienced pilots have got into trouble without realizing it. At high angles of attack, the induced drag increases sharply and unless the angle of attack is quickly reduced, the aircraft develops a high rate of descent, which cannot be arrested withthe power available (even with reheat). Added to this, there is no protest from the aircraft like severe shudder, wing rocking. etc, prevalent in other types of aircraft. This gives a feeling of well-being and a number of pilots did not recognize the danger in time to take recovery action or eject.

The training of pilots is under constant review with procedures being updated regularly and creating the required level of awareness. IAFhas very strict norms during each stage of training and only those who have the capability are posted to fly fighters. Even with the finest of filters there is always someone who would get through various stages without showing any weakness. Some of these individuals get in to trouble, fail to recover from difficult situations and sometimes they compound a simple emergency.

This is a human failing and is no different in any other part of the world and Indians alone cannot be singled out for it. One particular CAS (in mid 80s) is on record to have stated that “I would rather lose a pilot in an error type of accident than in actual combat, for those who survive the rigors of peace time would be really combat ready”. While this is one way of viewing an accident, the proper way would be to consider even “One accident as One too many”. It is very difficult particularly for the families of those who lost someone close to accept error or error of judgment on the part the individual. It must be appreciated that the best of professionals make mistakes, be it Tendulkar, Tiger Woods or Pete Sampras.  A fighter pilot has no chance like these top sportsman who are firmly on ground (not having challenged gravity) and are able to play the next innings or the next match.

A correspondent writes in Times News Network (Sunday, September 02, 2001) “The MiG-21s are arguably the most difficult to fly. Compare it to Mirage-2000 which has the fly-by-wire technology, making it very easy to fly”. Such off the cuff statements leads to all kinds of inference by the general public. Correspondents should use a lot of restraint while writing on complex technical matters. A-320 accident at Bangalore in 1990 is a case in example where fly-by-wire did not help when the pilots failed to manage energy properly.

Technical Defect accidents occur due to interplay of a complex set of factors. Technical defects leading to an accident could be either due to an inherent or an induced problem. The primary factors are:

• Design inadequacies                            Inherent

• Manufacturing/Overhaul Quality             Induced

• Maintenance                                      Induced

Operational Factors                             Induced

MIG crashes in Gujarat, pilot is safe: 01 September, 2008 04:12:31 Our Special Correspondent New Delhi

Sept. 1: A MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed about 50 km west of Jamnagar in Gujarat at about 11.50 am on Monday, the Indian Air Force confirmed. The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft.

The aircraft was on a routine training-flying mission, IAF officials said, adding that an enquiry has been ordered into the incident. This is the sixth crash of an IAF aircraft this year and the fourth crash of a MiG aircraft this year. According to the IAF, a MiG-27 aircraft of the IAF had crashed on January 31 this year. A MiG-21 aircraft crashed at Bhuj on February 15. In April this year, a Hawk Trainer aircraft also crashed at Bidar.

On May 23 this year, a MiG-21 aircraft crashed at Bagdogra. In all four of these cases as well, the pilots ejected safely. However, the only fatality occurred on May 12 when a Hindustan Piston Trainer aircraft crashed near Medak in Andhra Pradesh killing the lady trainee pilot who was flying the aircraft.

The latest MiG-29 aircraft crash again raises questions on the flight safety record of the IAF. In the past 11 years, the IAF has lost over 200 aircraft out of which over 90 were MiG aircraft.

Traditionally, the Indian Air Force has relied very heavily on aircraft manufactured by the Russian aircraft manufacturer MiG.

Algeria had the guts and the gumptions to cancel the Russian purchase the return the sub standard planes back to Russia. Does India have the guts?

Algeria Returns Russian Migs, Demands Money Back

Russia sold the Migs-29’s to Algeria at cut-rate prices, and forgave past debts of $4.7 billion to get the deal. The photo shows an Iraqi Mig-29 shot down in Operation Desert Storm.AltNet October 24th, 2008

The Migs for Algeria were actually old airframes from the 1990’s with new equipment installed. The problem is that the frame and skin of an aircraft wears out, because it is constantly flexing in flight. Eventually it’s like repeatedly bending a wire in the same place, the metal starts to break apart. No wonder Algeria was mad. They have also canceled an oil contract with the Russian national oil company Gazprom.

After Israel bombed the nuclear plant in Syria, StrategyPage.com predicted that many Russian military deals would falter. The Russian radar and anti-aircraft systems that were installed in Syria obviously didn’t work. Once customers find out that the equipment doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, they get cranky and cancel contracts. This may be a contributory factor in the case of Algeria.

Russian military equipment is usually much cheaper than U.S. equipment, or the best European equipment. However, it’s usually just not as good. Rickety old Russian Migs are good enough for attacking rebels, or neighbors, but if you have to go up against the U.S. or her allies, you’re toast. Alt Net October 24th, 2008

This problem has been going on for more than a decade. Here is a report from 1999

Flying coffins continue to take a heavy toll

Josy Joseph in New Delhi  http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/dec/21josy.htm December 21, 1999

MiG-21 fighters, the backbone of the Indian Air Force and used extensively for training pilots, continue to fall off the sky in shockingly large numbers killing young pilots and exposing a national negligence which began almost two decades back. Authorities continue to dish out illogical explanations. Meanwhile the replacement of the vintage Russian aircraft and advanced jet trainer for training pilots is nowhere in sight.

Among those killed in MiG-21crashes are pilots who successfully bombed tiny bunkers atop the Kargilheights during Operation Vijay.

Senior Air Force officials said the IAFcannot afford to dump the ageing fighters and “we have to live with it.” Of the 40 fighter squadrons of the IAF, 16 comprise MiG-21 variants. The MiG-21s are also being deployed as trainer aircraft. It is becoming clear that even the best MiG-21s which are used for training are revealing severe technical problems. The latest accident in Assam on December 16 was due to a technical snag in a trainer MiG-21.

A long history of a shocking lack of disregard for the safety of India’s finest pilots by almost every authority concerned has led to the present state, documents and information available in the public domain reveal.

The IAFis already listed among organizations with a poor flying record. But the increasing number of accidents involving trainer fighters have put the IAF in a piquant situation, as it has no replacement for them. No replacement even in the immediate future: the contract for Advanced Jet Trainers is expected to be signed in a couple of months but it will be several months from now when they are finally introduced.

Of the 28 IAF aircraft that crashed this year, 13 of them were MiG-21 variants. Last year the total crashes in IAF were 18. In fact, MiG-21s, nicknamed ‘flying coffins’ by the Delhi media, have been exhibiting a high rate of accidents for almost 10 years now. It was in 1998, that an extensive Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s audit pointed out that “the accident rate of the fighter stream, particularly MiG-21 variants continue to be high.” In the first seven years of this decade, till 1997, the IAF lost 147 aircraft, and 63 pilots.

In the last one decade, while 41 per cent of the accidents were due to human error, 44 per cent were due to technical error. Senior IAF officials attribute the high rate of technical error to technical defects arising out of deficient maintenance procedure including overhaul by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The CAG audit, the only one of its kind ever carried out and available in the public domain, had noted that “the number of accidents due to technical defects showed an upward trend.” In 1991-92 technical defects were responsible for only 28.21 per cent of the accidents, but it shot up to 66.67 per cent in 1996-97.

While the facilities for training pilots in IAF are far from satisfactory, “the trainee pilots had to undergo training on operational jet fighters MiG-21 in the absence of advanced jet trainers,” the CAG had noted in 1998. The situation remains the same, except for the worsening of operational capability of the fighters.

The La Fontaine Committee in 1982 had discovered a noticeable correlation between the pattern of training and aircraft accidents. The committee had also pointed out that there exists a quantum jump in skill and judgement as the IAF had no suitable operational transitional trainer aircraft to fill the intervening gap before the pilots are taken to operational fighter aircraft. The government had committed in 1982 itself that it will buy Advanced Jet Trainers to replace MiG-21s and Hunter aircraft as trainers. But after almost two decades and hundreds of accidents killing several young pilots, the AJT remains a distant dream. In fact, a cruel joke.

What is now worrying the authorities is the fact that even the best of MiG-21s used for training are showing up technical problems. On December 16, a MiG-21 belonging to the Operational Flying Training Unit based at Tezpur crashed due to technical problems. The pilot escaped unhurt.

Not all pilots are so lucky. Flying Officer Pankaj Joshi returned triumphant after several successful bombing missions over the Kargil ranges. But he died recently while flying a MiG-21.

A massive contract for overhauling the ‘flying coffins’ was signed in March 1996 with the Russian authorities. This was to upgrade the MiG-21Bis variant, which is the latest entrant among the MiG-21s. After three years, two prototypes are the only ones upgraded, and the Rs 25,000 million upgradation too seems to stretch beyond any time limit. The two variants are supposed to complete the required amount of flying hours and return to India and to be indigenously copied at the HAL unit in Nashik.

The Defence Research and Development Organization’s attempt to develop a Light Combat Aircraft which could have formed the backbone of the IAF and could have replaced MiG-21s is nowhere in sight. The government has already spent about Rs 20,000 million on the project but nothing concrete has come out of the ambitious project. The IAF has almost lost hope in getting an indigenous fighter, and government is not ready to allocate enough funds to replace the MiG-21s, whose induction began in the late 1960s.

The negligence is not total. The government has been acting on the issue: the file for acquisition of AJTs has been shuttling between the Prime Minister’s Office, the Indian Air Force Headquarters and the Defence Ministry for almost 20 years now. And at least six high power committees have investigated the accidents since the early 1980s. They were: La Fontaine Committee of 1982, IG Krishna Committee of 1987, Nehra Committee of 1989, Pratap Rao Committee of 1991, RathoreCommittee of 1994 and a High Power Committee about a couple of years back. Of these, both the IG Krishna and NehraCommittees dealt specifically with technical problems related MiG-21 variants.

But no concrete action is in the offing. Flying Coffins continue to drop off the air, killing budding pilots and ambitious patriots.

Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes has flown aboard a MiG-21 fighter plane in an attempt to demonstrate that the jets are safe.Mr Fernandes, 73, accepted a challenge from a former minister to take the flight because of criticism of the aircraft’s safety record.But critics have described his flight as a frivolous” exercise when the need was to buy newer aircraft.

At a news conference after the flight, Mr Fernandes said the air force would gradually begin phasing out some of the oldest MiGs in its fleet.

India has more than 300 ageing MiG-21s, known as “flying coffins” because more than 150 have crashed in the past 10 years.

The families of those pilots killed in the crashes and some opposition politicians have called for the planes to be grounded.

MiG-21 fighters make up half the Indian Air Force fleet, most of them bought from the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago.

Opposition

Mr Fernandes made the flight from an air base in Ambala, in the northern state of Punjab.
You will achieve much more towards actually making MiGs safer and the fleet more efficient by running your ministry more aggressively to get the new equipment badly needed and fast
Kavita Gadgi
The pilot who flew the minister, Wing Commander N Harish, said Mr Fernandes was totally “at home” on board the plane.

“We did a few manoeuvres. When I decided to head back he said, ‘Can’t we stay in the air a little longer?’ So we stayed a bit longer,” the pilot said.

In June the defence minister flew on board a Russian-built supersonic Sukhoi-30 fighter jet.

Most of the MiG crashes have been blamed on pilot error or technical problems.

India has been looking to buy an advanced jet trainer aircraft to help train its fighter pilots.

But the government has yet to decide on which aircraft to buy after receiving bids from British, French and Czech companies.

Meanwhile, opposition to the MiG is growing.

The Abhijit Air Safety Foundation – formed in honour of fighter pilot Abhijit Gadgil who was killed in a crash three years ago – has been lobbying against the use of MiGs.

His mother, Kavita Gadgil, is to meet the president next month to press her case.

In a letter to the defence minister ahead of his flight, she urged him to avoid taking what she said was a “completely frivolous exercise”.

“As a defence minister, you will achieve much more towards actually making MiGs safer and the fleet more efficient by running your ministry more aggressively to get the new equipment badly needed and fast.”

 

Fernandes rides on ‘flying coffin’: There have been calls for the MiG-21 to be banned Mirage: The new flying Coffins:

NEW DELHI: The Mirage-2000 H fighter squadrons based in Gwalior are under fire from Air Headquarters after another aircraft crashed on Tuesday morning during joint exercises with the Singapore Air Force.

This was the third Mirage to go down in the last 20 days. The Mirage fleet, considered one of the most reliable arms of the IAF, had until now a high safety record. Since its induction in 1985, only five have been lost _ three in the last three weeks.

The crash on Tuesday involved a Mirage trainer, piloted by Wg Cdr Venkatesh and Flt Lt Rangachari. It was ditched after its engine stalled, apparently because of a compressor failure.

Preliminary reports indicated that the trainer experienced engine trouble at 18,000 feet. It stalled at 1,800 feet, still four nautical miles away from the Maharajpur runway. The pilots ejected safely.

While the maintenance wing has come under the Air Hqs scanner, it’s learnt that a French air forceMirage too met with a similar engine problem recently.

On September 23, a Mirage, piloted by Sqn Ldr H S Gill, went down and there’s prima facieevidence to suggest it had to with maintainence problems.

On October 3, a Mirage fighter, piloted by Sqn Ldr Ram Kumar, crash-landed at Plaisance airport in Mauritius. Preliminary findings point to pilot error.

A French technical team from DassaultMirage is already in Gwalior, working with IAF and HAL experts to get to the bottom of the problem. The IAF has two Mirage squadrons: Tigers and Battle Axes.

While Air Hqs is tightlipped, it’s learnt that action may be taken action against some of the officers involved.

What has upset the IAF most is the September 23 crash where the nose wheel fell because some bolts had corroded. This clearly pointed to slackness on the part of the maintenance wing in Gwalior.

The Mauritius incident, on the other hand, is being attributed to pilot error because the undercarriage was not lowered in time before landing. Sources said that the aircraft’s auxiliary fuel tank, emptied while in flight, took the impact. Had the tank been full, the aircraft could have exploded. At the time of landing, the aircraft speed was some 220 km per hour. The Mirage, undergoing repairs in Mauritius, will soon be ready for the flight home.

Here is a report from the Hindu from 2001(http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/biz/2001/12/20/stories/2001122000250100.htm)

Pilot training and accidents in the Indian Air Force

THE LONG running debate over the IAF’s proposed purchase of advanced jet trainers (AJTs) poses more than a few interesting questions that are rarely asked, leave alone answered, at least in public, so here goes…

First, a brief history. In the early 1980s, the IAFdecided that it was facing unacceptably high levels of losses of both aircraft and fighter pilots and set up a committee under Air Marshal La Fontaine to study the problem. The committee submitted its report in 1984 saying that the accidents were a result of young pilots having to “convert onto” high performance MiG-21 fighters straight from basic jet training on the HAL Kiran or the PZL Iskra. The committee went on to recommend that the solution lay with introducing an advanced jet trainer to bridge the gap between the two stages.

The AJTsaga has since become almost mystical with imminent acquisition, regardless of price, storiesalternating with accusations of corruption and “offers” of alternates to the front-running British aircraft, the Hawk, ranging from the Franco-German Alphajet to the Russian MiG-AT. By all accounts, the Hawk is an excellent aircraft, but no aircraft is a magic bullet that can single-handedly transform pilot training and the AJT’s acquisition could divert attention from perhaps more important criteria such as pilot selection, training standards, maintenance and so on.

Acquisition of the 66 Hawks reportedly required by the IAF will cost over Rs. 9,100 croresassuming that all of them are bought on the same terms that the NATO flying training school in Canada acquired them in 1999. This is the initial acquisition cost alone, with total maintenancecosts over the lifetime of the aircraft being at least twice as great. Incidentally, the aircraft purchase is likely to be spread out over a few years, but in a peak year the outflow on this count may exceed 5 per cent of the total annual defence budget!!

Before getting into advanced fighter training, it is worth reviewing the IAF’s current pilot training structure, concentrating on fighter pilots. Officer cadet training in the IAF is concentrated at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal (near Hyderabad), except for engineers, who train at Jalahalli, near Bangalore, and doctors, who attend the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune. Those expected to be inducted in to the IAF after three years at the National Defence Academy spend a year at Dundigal, whereas “Direct Entry” officer cadets (who already have a university degree) train for a longer period.

Ground training at Dundigal in subjects ranging from aerodynamics, propulsion and navigation to meteorology is followed by, and concurrent to, primary flying training on the Deepak piston engined trainer made by HAL, Kanpur. Those successfully passing through this screening stage transit to the Kiran or the Polish Iskrajet trainers with the “Kiran stream” moving onto armament training on the Kiran II. Some of this training is also conducted at the nearby Bidar and Hakimpet air bases. Successful completion of this basic training stage does not automatically lead to further fighter pilot training as the IAF also needs good transport and helicopter pilots and navigators, but the largest group heads for Tezpur, in Assam, and MOFTU, the MiG Operational Flying Training Unit, where they train on two-seat MiG-21s. Passing out of MOFTUmeans that the young officer finally becomes a fighter pilot who stays with the 21s or moves onto other fighters. The typical IAF fighter pilot goes on to “type qualify” on more than one aircraft.

 The statistics

 Accident, or loss, rates of combat aircraft are usually measured in terms of incidents per ten thousand operational hours or “sorties.” These are often not publicly disclosed and the IAF is no exception in this regard. However, the IAF with 26 aircraft lost in 2000 and 30 the year before is easily at the top of the accident league of large air forces and one can safely assume that measurements in terms of operational hours or sorties will not significantly affect its “record.”

Eighteen of the 26 aircraft lost in the year 2000 were fighters with the others ranging from helicopters to trainers like the Kiran and Iskra. Not all the 26 aircraft losses were fatal to the pilots concerned, but some were and the loss of civilian life and property on the ground was not insignificant.

Of the 18 fighters lost, ten were MiG-21s, prima facie a high level. Closer examination, however, reveals that only two were in Assam (or elsewhere in the North East). If one assumes that student pilots of MOFTUcaused both, two out of 18, leave alone two out of 26, is a very low proportion hardly justifying hysteria on this count. Even this low figure might well be an over statement because a significant amount of MiG-21 operational flying takes place in north eastern India and the lost aircraft could well have been on those sorties.

 The real reasons

 Other reasons for losing the aircraft could range from bad weather to ageing aircraft and parts shortages leading to engine and structural failures. The morale of the IAF’s engineering officers, and therefore of maintenance, reached a nadir during the Sareen era of the 1990s and one hopes that the small reduction in aircraft losses seen recently is a reflection of improvements effected following the extreme foolishness of that period.

If one goes back further in time, however, one discovers that the IAF used to have an excellent safety record – comparable to the best in the world. What has changed? Why have fighter pilot standards fallen so precipitously?

One can “buy” the absence of an advanced trainer argument only if all the crashes were solely a result of errors at MOFTU by inexperienced pilot officers, but that falls flat on its face if the accidents involved pilots who had qualified from Tezpur and even more so if it involves flying officers, flight lieutenants and squadron leaders, and a large proportion do.

The obvious question that needs to be asked is if pilot selection and training has been compromised so far that those who ought never have been allowed to have been selected for further training, leave alone qualified as fighter pilots, have been let loose to cause mayhem in the sky and on the ground. Introduction of an advanced trainer should not be used to compensate for gross inadequacies in selection or training – it never can.

Mr. Fernandes should not allow himself to be led up the garden path with regard to the AJT. It is not only a matter of the tens of thousands of crores that the Hawks will cost over their lifetimes – only the best pilots contribute to national defence, while the others may end up costing it dearly for years to come.  C. Manmohan Reddy

Here is a report from 2002:

The IAF has 20 squadrons of the single-engine MiG21 (about 200 fighters) in its fleet of over 800 fighter aircraft. One report says the accident rate of MiG23s and MiG27s is higher than the MiG21. The MiGscomprise 74 per cent of the IAF’s aircraft. The MiG21 is originally of 1960s vintage but the MiG21bis is of the mid-1970s. Under the contract signed with the Russians in 1997, Hindustan Aeronautics is to upgrade the MiG21bis fleet. “In a sense, the IAF is making the best of an outdated aircraft by going in for mid-life extension. We are aware that there are much better aircraft available today for the role the MiG21 plays but till such time as these aircraft are available to us in adequate numbers, there is no alternative,” one source said.

Here is another report from 2002 which lists more than 350 crashes:

MiG crash

This is with reference to “Are MiGs flights of farewell?” (Business Line, June 12). The recent MiG crash has once again demonstrated the fact that the Indian Air Force’s large Russian-made MiG fleet has an embarrassing safety record.

There have been over 350 crashes involving these aircraft in the last 13 years, with over 170 pilots losing their lives. These incidents have earned MiGs the notorious epithet “flying coffins”.

The main cause for such frequent crashes of MiGs is attributed to non-availability of Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) in India.

It was rightly cautioned by Mr Vladimir Barkovsky, the Deputy Chief Designer of MiG Corporation, that the delay in the induction of indigenous intermediate jet trainer by India was the main cause of the high accident rate of MiG-21s.

Paucity of funds could no longer be a valid reason for delay in purchase of the AJTs since the MiG crashes have cost the country between Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore.

The Centre should rise up to the seriousness of the problem and take expeditious and concrete steps to procure AJTs without waiting for any more MiG mishaps. C. Ramesh Keeramangalam (TN)

Here is another report on the Flying Coffins from 2002 which lists more than 250 crashes.

Saturday, 9 November, 2002, 10:26 GMT

India’s air force scraps outdated jetshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2429383.stm

 

India has had many MiG crashes

 A MiG crashed into an office building earlier this year. 

The Indian Air Force is to phase out an old version of the Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter.The jet has been involved in at least 250 crashes since 1991.

 More than 100 pilots have died flying the F-L version of the MiG-21 during this time.The bad safety record has earned the MiG-21s the nickname of “flying coffins”.

The decision to phase out the jet follows a meeting on Friday between the Indian Defence Minister, George Fernandes, and senior members of the Indian Air Force.

Officials have blamed the accidents on a number of factors, including outdated technology and the unavailability of spare parts.

New jet trainers

India has been involved in protracted negotiations with various countries for the purchase of new jet fighters since 1983.

It is reported to have narrowed down the choice to British Hawk fighter jets.

But the $1.6bn deal has not yet been finalised.

Senior air force officials say they are hopeful of acquiring new jet trainers before the end of the current financial year in March 2003.

 http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems…tories&Topic=0

India’s ‘Flying Coffin’ Keeps On Flying: India is to retain its controversial MiG fighter aircraft, dubbed the “flying coffin” after a series of fatal crashes.At least 50 pilots have died in more than 100 MiG crashes over the last six years.

Wreckage of a MiG-21 Defense Ministry official said there were no plans to phase out use of the jets.

Work on upgrading the MiG-21s will continue and the entire fleet will be upgraded by 2005.

Defence Minister George Fernandesblamed the series of MiG crashes on human error, technical defects and collisions with birds.

He said the planes were checked before each flight and that every aircraft is “certified fully air worthy before a flight is undertaken.”

“But fighter-flying, by its very nature, has certain inherent risks, which cannot be avoided altogether,” Mr Fernandes said.

Nine pilots died in 20 MiG aircraft crashes last year, while in 2001, 15 pilots were killed in 27 accidents.

The fleet of 125 MiG-21 aircraft forms the mainstay of India’s air force but frequent accidents have raised concerns about its safety.

Most of the MiGsthat crash are repaired and put back into service.

India to junk 70 MiG-21 “flying coffins”BANGALORE (AFP) May 26, 2004
The Indian air force said Wednesday it will scrap 70 MiG-21 aircraft next year and in an added step will further shrink its fleet of fighter aircraft, depleted by regular crashes.

Air force chief S. Krishnaswamy told reporters in the southern city of Bangalore that the single-seater Russian-built jets which were being trashed were the oldest variant of its mainstay MiG fleet.

“So there are no more aeroplanes, we are desperate. We need the trainer jets more importantly than a combat aircraft,” he said of the previous administration’s decision to buy 66 Hawk jet trainers from Britain worth 1.45 billion dollars.

More than 100 Indian airforce pilots have died in the past decade in crashes of MiG-21s, which have been nicknamed “flying coffins” because of their terrible safety record.

In the latest crash in February four people were killed and 15 others were injured when a MiG-21 ploughed into a village and set ablaze several houses in the western state of Gujarat.

A MiG-27 went off radar last week in eastern India, prompting calls by pilots to install aircraft-locating safety devices on the remaining units.

Krishnaswamysaid the state-owned aircraft maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, was in the process of upgrading India’s MiG-27 interceptor jets with new electronics systems.

“We have given approximately 40 MiG-27 aircraft for upgrades and about 50 to 60 (British-designed) Jaguar aircraft and another 50 to 60 aircraft would follow,” he said. (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040526162824.t9losac6.html)

Indian Mirage crashes in exercise 

A French-built Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet has crashed after taking off from the Gwalior base in central India.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image…agebody_ap.jpg
The safety record of the Indian Air Force has been criticised

The pilot ejected safely and the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area.

The crash is the second involving a Mirage 2000 in India in less than a month, and the fifth since they became part of the air force in the 1980s.

The Indian Air Force is one of the largest in the world, but has been criticised for its poor safety record.

Series of setbacks

“The pilots got airborne for an exercise mission but they experienced some technical fault in the aircraft and they wanted to land,” Squadron Leader Mahesh Upasani told the Reuters news agency.

“But they could not land the plane and ejected safely before it crashed near the base,” he said.

The crash – during joint exercises with the Singaporean air force – is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Indian Air Force.

A Mirage 2000 crashed last month after the aircraft reportedly lost its nose wheel in mid-flight.

Several British-designed Jaguars crashed in quick succession earlier this year.

India’s ageing MiG-21s have an appalling safety record – more than 30 have crashed in the past 18 months alone.

In March, India ordered 66 Hawk jet trainers aircraft from Britain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3736008.stm

And, there goes another one! They really need to see what the reasons are for such crashes.

How accurate are these figures? The Figures between 1979 till 1996 cover 60% of all the losses. all figures prior to 79 are just indicative and in no way qualifies as comprehensive. All the incidents before 1994 have been covered by reports from news papers and sources. The Years 1994, 1995 , 1996 are not covered and we had to refer to secondary sources for the figures. 1997 and 1998 have been covered by a Statement released in the Parliament on 11 Mar 99. All figures from April 1999 have been collected by news reports from the Internet. To give you an idea of its coverage, Here are the ‘reports’ against the available data.

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Aircraft Type	Total	Recorded	Percentage
MiG-21	315	163(13)	52%
MiG-23		23 (3)
MiG-25	04	02
MiG-27		21
MiG-29	07(1)	05 (0)
Jaguar	23(1)	23 (1)
Mirage 2000	03	03

 

Our Thanks go to the following:

PUBLICATIONS

• History of the Indian Air Force 1933-47, Ed by SN Gupta , pub  by MoD India
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Web Site at www.cwgc.org
• Final Landings by Colin Cummings
• Broken Wings by James J Halley, pub by Air Britain Ltd
• Spitfire International by Helmut Terbeck, pub by Air Britain Ltd
• The Battle Axes by Pushpindar Singh, pub by Society for Aerospace Studies
• Sir James Martin by Sarah Sharman

پاکستان لڈجر| PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا | September 10th, 2008  | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |  | RUPEE NEWS | Moin Ansari | September 10th, 2008 | معین آنصآرّی | اخبار روپیہ |

Earlier, a MiG-27, two MiG-21s, a Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and a Kiran crashed this year while a pilot was killed in one of the crashes, a spokesman said. The Mig -29, an all-weather air superiority aircraft was on a one-on-one training sortie when the pilot lost control of the MiG-29 which crashed in the sea about 50 km off Jamnagar. The MiG-29 belonged to the 28 Squadron of the Indian Air force which took off from Jamnagar base. APP