MiG-29K crash: When joint effort of Indian Coast Guard and Navy saved the LIFE of fighter jet pilot

An Indian Navy's MiG-29K fighter jet, on a routine sortie, crashed off the coast of Goa on October 12, 2022 morning after developing a technical malfunction. The pilot ejected safely, landing in the ocean, the Navy said and the naval headquarters later ordered a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the incident. While the pilot ejected safely, he landed in the Arabian Sea, near Goa and needed immediate evacuation. Although the Indian Navy deployed a chopper to evacuate the pilot, the pilot was spotted by Indian Coast Guard's Dornier Do-228 plane.

The Indian Coast Guard’s Dornier aircraft were lined up for a flypast in Karnataka yesterday, but were diverted to locate the MiG-29K fighter jet of the Navy, 60 miles off the Goa coast, said ICG officials. In a display of joint effort between the two maritime forces, the ICG Dornier located the pilot who had ejected in a dingy.

Meanwhile, a Navy chopper also reached the location to rescue the pilot. The two Dorniers completed their mission in 40 minutes, concluded the ICG officials. The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG).

#WATCH | Indian Coast Guard’s Dornier aircraft were lined up for a flypast in Karnataka yesterday but were diverted to locate the MiG-29K fighter jet of the Navy 60 miles off Goa coast: ICG officials pic.twitter.com/f0DFuArn5U — ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2022

"A MiG 29K on a routine sortie over sea off Goa developed a technical malfunction while returning to base. The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation," the Navy said in a brief statement. "The pilot is reported to be in stable condition. The Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident," it said.

Indian Navy MiG-29K crashes

The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia over a decade back at a cost of around USD 2 billion to operate from INS Vikramaditya. In November 2020, a MiG-29K aircraft of the Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast after taking off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

A MiG-29K twin-seat fighter aircraft had crashed in South Goa district in November 2019 and both the pilots had ejected safely. Another MIG-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast on February 23, 2020 after taking off from INS Hansa, a prominent naval air station at Vasco in Goa.

With PTI inputs