A Russian pilot has died on Wednesday following a crash of a MiG-29 fighter jet in the Astrakhan region in southern Russia, RIA news agency reported citing the defense ministry.
“On August 18, 2021, a MiG-29 plane crashed in the Astrakhan Region when conducting a planned flight. The plane fell in an empty place on the Ashuluk test range territory. The flight was carried out without the loadout. The pilot is dead,” the statement reads.
“A commission of the Main Command of the [Russian] Aerospace Forces has been dispatched to the site to study what caused the crash,” the district added.
MiG-29 is a twin-engine jet fighter aircraft, the first plane were procured to the army in 1983.
Sources in the defense department report that the fighter crashed far from populated areas, while the pilot did not have time to eject; in addition, it is reported that a flight control systems malfunction could have been the cause of the crash, reported RIA Novosti.
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