5th Indian MiG-21 Crash Caps Fatal Year For Troubled Fighter

The Indian Air Force has lost another of their experienced pilots to their troubled MiG-21 Bison, when a crash on December 24th claimed the life of 51st Squadron Wing Commander Harshit Sinha.

The IAF confirmed the incident in Jaisalmer as the crash being the 5th for the aircraft type in 2021. Efforts to replace the MiG in service have been in the works for more than a decade but have yielded little change. In 2013, one surviving Wing Commander, in the wake of his own MiG-21 crash, petitioned the courts for the fleet to be scrapped, saying the fighter violated his right to a safe work environment. Overall, the aircraft type has been involved in nearly 300 accidents and losses, with over 200 fatalities.

Details on the incident are short at this time, pending an investigation. The fighter went down in the Desert National Park in India's Rajasthan area. The nearby Pakistani border makes the region a common area for flight operations between the geopolitical rivals. Commander Sinha hailed from Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad district, and is survived by his wife and 2 daughters at Lucknow.

His absence will weigh heavily on the Sword Arms unit, according to his comrades. Sinha was reportedly a young, humble, approachable leader who brought an affable, easygoing air to an often stressful situation. His death marks the 3rd fatality in the last year, outpacing any of its contemporary IAF aircraft by a fair margin.

The MiG-21 entered service with the IAF in 1963, continuing to this day despite most operators phasing out the aged, temperamental aircraft. Designed in the early years of the jet age as a fast interceptor capable of achieving Mach 2 with a relatively antiquated turbojet designed for straight-line sprints,  the fighter was left behind by its fighter competition decades prior. India has had tentative plans to replace the MiG in service in the coming years, but continues to use their aircraft on hand with no replacement on the immediate horizon. When purchased, the country made significant investments on their logistics for the type, and replacing a half-century of experience, preparation, equipment, and support is a hard sell for some brass when they feel that acceptable training should mitigate the inherent risk of the demanding fighter. 

FMI: www.indianairforce.nic.in