Another MiG-21 crashed and one more pilot, Squadron Leader Swapna Shankar Pandey died in the accident. The fighter aircraft crashed near Kurseong that is about 30 km from Siliguri today.

The pilot of the fighter plane tried to escape but his parachute reportedly failed to unfold when the plane was falling down. According to the report, the parachute could not open due to low height.

The Air Force recovered his body from the jungles later in the evening. According to the Station Commander of Bagdogra airforce Chandra Mowli, Pandey had taken off from the base station at 12.35 pm for a routine flight. After only 10 minutes of flight, the aircraft lost the control and started falling down.

At 1.10 pm, the Narbung tea estate manager from Kurseong informed the district administration that he had seen a flamed aircraft falling in a nearby jungle.

The Indian Express has reported that the Mig-21 might have hit a vulture and caused the fire.

This is the fifth MiG accident in the past five years and recorded the declining safety records of MiG series gighter aircrafts. In comparison with MiG-21, Mig-23 and Mig-27, the MiG-29 has showed better quality and better safety records. But the crashes have shaken the confidence in all MiG aircrafts.

Read More about MiG Crashes:
[1], [2], [3]

Read