Search on for pilot missing in MiG-29K crash: Indian Navy

Mumbai: The search is still on for pilot Cdr Nishant Singh who has been missing since a MiG-29K fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed into the Arabian sea, a Western Naval Command spokesperson said on Saturday.

“More surface and air assets have joined the search for missing pilot Cdr Nishant Singh,” the spokesperson said.

The Russian-origin jet had taken off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and went down at around 5 PM on Thursday, officials had said.

One pilot of the aircraft had been rescued while a search operation is on for Cdr Nishant Singh, Indian Navy officials had said on Friday.

The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG). 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.

INS Vikramaditya was part of the second phase of the Malabar exercise involving navies of India, the US, Australia and Japan.

The MIG-29K fleet on board the aircraft carrier was also involved in the mega naval drill that took place from November 17 to 20.