https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4597194.html
MiG-29K fighter jet crashed again in India
The official representative of the Indian Navy said that on the morning of October 12, 2022, a Russian-made MiG-29K naval fighter of the Indian Naval Aviation crashed near Goa in the sea. The aircraft was returning to the Indian Naval Air Base Ganza (Dabolim) near Goa from a scheduled training flight, but due to a technical malfunction, it crashed into the sea. The pilot successfully ejected and was picked up by the search and rescue service.
This is the fifth loss of the MiG-29K series fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy.
The first loss of an aircraft of this type in the aviation of the Indian Navy occurred on January 3, 2018, when the Indian MiG-29K crashed during takeoff at the Hansa airbase, the pilot successfully ejected.
On November 16, 2019, shortly after takeoff from the Hansa air base, a MiG-29KUB two-seat ship fighter crashed, both Indian pilots successfully ejected. The cause of the accident was the collision of the aircraft with a flock of birds, with birds getting into the engine and subsequent fire.
On February 23, 2020, during a training flight from the Hansa airbase, a single-seat MiG-29K fighter crashed over the sea, the pilot successfully ejected.
On November 26, 2020, a two-seat MiG-29KUB fighter crashed in the Arabian Sea during flights from the Indian aircraft carrier R 33 Vikramaditya. One of the pilots of the aircraft ejected and was rescued, and the second (instructor commander Nishant Singh) died.
In total, under the contracts of 2004 and 2010, the Indian Navy received 45 MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB (9-41 and 9-47) shipborne fighters manufactured by RAC MIG JSC, the deliveries of which were made from 2009 to 2016. These aircraft consist in service with the 300th and 303rd Indian Naval Aviation Squadrons at Ganza Air Base (Dabolim) in Goa.
From the side of bmpd, we note that there has been an obvious increase in the accident rate of MiG-29K / KUB fighters in recent years against the backdrop of ongoing systemic complaints from the Indian side about quality problems and technical support for both the aircraft themselves and their engines. Since the beginning of the MiG-29K's entry into service with the Indian Navy, the serviceability of their fleet has not exceeded half. RAC "MIG" for years has shown a strange indifference and lack of energy and competence in relation to the main current operator of its aircraft. Obviously, against the backdrop of what is happening in Ukraine, this does not improve the reputation of Russian military equipment in the eyes of Indian partners, despite their desire to continue military-technical cooperation with Russia.