MiG-29 jet that crashed in July 2006 near Bolshoye Savino airport in Perm, Russia.
Photo: Yevgeny Zapiskin
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Russian Air Force Loses 2 Fighter Jets
// in a sham fight
Flight commander in MiG-29 rammed the aircraft of his squadron commander during the training exercise in the 4th air army of the Air Force and Air Defense of Russia in Rostov region yesterday. After the collision, both fighter jets, worth around $35 million each, crashed down on corn fields and burned. Pilots ejected themselves, receiving bruises only.
Fighter-jet squads of Dalmatinka air garrison, located near Millerovo village in Rostov region, practiced in turns the take-off, landing, movement, and air-fight in groups for the entire day on Wednesday. The garrison’s midranking officers had to fly as well, so as to control the training quality of their subordinates in the air. Senior officers watched the sham fights from the ground.
The training exercises, going on for three days already, went successfully until the flight of the MiG-29 squad headed by Major Dmitry Chirkin and their supervisory pilot, squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel Fedor Ulfanov. Chirkin’s pilots acted flawlessly, witnesses say, but in a certain moment of the sham fight, the MiG-29 of the flight commander suddenly hurtled the tail of Ulfanov’s jet. Due to the collision, one aircraft lost a part of its tail, and another – a part of its wing, after which both jets fell into a nosedive.
The sham fight was going on at a considerable height, so there was enough time for pilots to eject themselves. Both officers left their jets successfully. However, Ulfanov hit his face against the dash panel during the catapult’s shoot-off, knocking out several teeth. Chirkin landed not far from Dyagtevo village. Ulfanov landed seven kilometers away from his subordinate, on the edge of Maryevka village. Both were soon picked up by military rescuers’ helicopters.
Both MiG jets crashed onto corn fields and burned down. “It was difficult to smother fire because of local inhabitants, who crowded near the sites of both accidents,” explained the duty attendant of Millerovo’s police department. “First, we moved the onlookers away at a safe distance, and set out cordon, for the jets might still have contained unburned fuel and ammunition. Then, the sites were examined by mine pickers and military procuracy officers. When the fire brigade was allowed to approach the fragments, about three hours after the jets crashed, there remained nothing to smother fire from.”
It is not clear yet who is responsible for the crash. However, it is most likely that the blame will be laid on the pilots. The Prosecutor’s Office of the North-Caucasus Military District has already qualified the incident as “the violation of rules for flights or flight preparation”, initiating a criminal case according to Article 351 of the Criminal Code of Russia.
Sergei Mashkin
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 22, 2007
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