End of an Era: MiG-21 to retire after over 60 years of service
#MiG21 #Supersonic #FighterJet #IndianAirForce #IAF #IndiaNews
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Hindustan Times
21 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
California plane crash: Two passengers found, one remains missing near Monterey
A private plane crashed off the coast of Northern California on Saturday, July 26. As per Newsweek, two of the three individuals on board have been found unconscious. One person remains missing. The Beech 95-B55 Baron aircraft had crashed in the ocean near Sunset Drive and Jewell Avenue in Pacific Grove at 10:40 pm local time on Saturday, as per flight radar data shared with KSBW. The private plane crashed around 10:40 pm local time.(Representative image/Unsplash) Also read: Southwest flight dives to avoid collision in California, passengers 'screaming', 2 crew hurt Monterey plane crash: What happened? The private plane left San Carlos Airport soon after 10 pm. It was set to land at the Monterey Regional Airport. The Beech 95-B55 plane was last seen near Monterey at 10:37 pm. The flight, labeled N8796R, had traveled almost 70 miles before it reportedly crashed about 200 to 300 feet off Point Pinos Lighthouse, a popular landmark. Witnesses claimed they heard the sound of an aircraft engine revving, as per CAL FIRE. The sound was followed by a splash in the ocean. A multi-agency response was initiated post the Monterey plane crash, with Pacific Grove Police, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, the Coast Guard, and CAL FIRE taking part. A helicopter and lifeboats were deployed minutes after the crash to search for the debris. The Beechcraft twin-engine aircraft has been found, United States Coast Guard (USCG) Petty Officer Ryan Graves told Newsweek. He added that multiple agencies are still searching the waters off Pacific Grove, near Monterey, on Sunday. The identities of the people on board have not been revealed. Also read: Russian plane with nearly 50 on board crashes in eastern Amur region, all feared dead Beech 95-B55 Crash to be investigated As per a People report, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the crash. The NTSB will also review the debris that washed ashore. The Monterey plane crash has drawn attention to private aircraft operations along California's coastline. There have been safety concerns associated with these operations, Newsweek reported. The incident has also highlighted the resources and coordination that are needed for air-sea rescue missions. FAQs Where did the Monterey plane crash happen? The Beech 95-B55 aircraft crashed 200 to 300 feet off Point Pinos Lighthouse in the Monterey Peninsula. How many people were on board the plane? Three people were on board the plane. One remains missing. Will the Beech 95-B55 aircraft crash be investigated? Yes, the incident will be probed by the FAA and NTSB.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Retirement of MiG fighter jets, concerns grow over delayed Tejas induction, shrinking combat strength
NEW DELHI: While preparations are underway to bid adieu to the last squadron of MiG aircraft on 19 September at Chandigarh this year, anxieties persist regarding the falling number of combat squadrons and, more significantly, the slow pace of production of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) intended to replace these longest-serving fighter jets. The jets of the Number 23 Squadron, MiG-21, will be flying for the last time. Inducted into the IAF in 1963, the MiG-21 was initially acquired for the role of a high-altitude interceptor. It was later retasked for ground attack. The USSR had designed it to counter aircraft such as the American U-2 spy plane. The first induction of the Russian-origin single-engine MiG-21 fighters took place in 1963, with different versions joining the IAF subsequently. As of now, the IAF continues to operate one squadron of the MiG-21 Bison at Suratgarh. A squadron in the IAF comprises 16–18 aircraft. However, an element of anxiety persists within the combat fraternity of the Air Force: following the retirement of the 23 Squadron, the IAF's combat squadron strength will fall to its lowest ever—29 squadrons—against the sanctioned strength of 42. 'It is a logical move as there is a shift in aerial combat—from close combat to acquisition and attack with missiles, which initially ranged a few kilometres but now exceed 100 kms,' said a fighter pilot, adding, 'The war now includes electronic warfare and has progressed to an informatised format.' The move was long due and aligns with existing plans, as the aircraft has long lived its age. 'The Pakistan Air Force, which inducted the F-104 long back, no longer operates that aircraft,' said a source. The concern, however, is not the retirement of the MiGs itself; it is the absence of a clear and timely replacement. 'The delays in induction of indigenously manufactured Light Combat Aircraft Tejas,' said the source. Overall, the Indian Air Force operated 24 fighter squadrons and four training units of MiG-21s. The IAF flew over 850 MiG-21s over six decades—a scale unmatched by most air forces. The aircraft, often nicknamed the 'Flying Coffin', saw approximately 300 losses in accidents. Interestingly, the birth of Tejas is closely linked with the MiG's phase-out. It is due to delays in the LCA project that the IAF took time in retiring the MiG-21s and replacing them with the indigenously developed Tejas, the source explained. The LCA was conceived in the late 1980s to replace the MiG-21s. After decades of delays due to production issues, the IAF now possesses 40 of the initial lot of Tejas aircraft. Last year, the IAF signed a ₹48,000-crore deal for 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters. As The New Indian Express reported earlier, the IAF is keen to induct close to 100 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighters. Once this order is fulfilled over the stipulated 15 years, the IAF will have 40 LCA, over 180 LCA Mk-1A, and at least 120 LCA Mk-2 aircraft. The first Tejas aircraft flew in 2001—17 years after the programme was initiated. The actual induction started 15 years later, in 2016. The first indigenous LCA was inducted in July 2016. The first IAF squadron to receive the Tejas was No. 45 Squadron, the 'Flying Daggers', which was earlier a MiG-21 Bis squadron. Tejas Mk1A is the newer and improved version of India's single-engine, 4.5-generation delta wing multirole combat aircraft, designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency. The delays in Tejas deliveries have caused anxiety, culminating in a 'no confidence' remark from the IAF Chief in February. The delay in the delivery of Tejas fighter aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) led to the comment by Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. While inspecting an aircraft at Aero India 2025, Singh was heard telling HAL officials, 'I can only tell you what our requirements and our worries are... At the moment, I am just not confident of HAL, which is a very wrong thing to happen.' The video was captured and posted by the defence news channel NationalDefence. However, HAL officials have expressed confidence in delivering 12 Tejas fighters in this financial year. The Air Chief highlighted that the force has yet to receive all 40 Tejas Mk1 jets ordered in 2010. The Indian Air Force currently operates only 36 Tejas Mk1 jets, with four deliveries still pending. Since the 1960s, MiGs have touched the lives of every IAF pilot, directly or indirectly. As September approaches, the feeling of melancholy among them is only natural.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Man with most flying hours on MIG-21 wants one last sortie as it flies into the sunset
When it comes to MIG-21s, there is no one more knowledgeable than Air Commodore Surendra Singh Tyagi (retd), who has a record-breaking 4,306 hours flying the aircraft–a feat acknowledged by the Russians themselves–and a staggering 6316 sorties in total. So when he speaks about the pros and cons of the Russian aircraft, everyone listens. And now, when the departure of MIG-21 BISON from the Indian Air Force (IAF) is imminent, all that the 83-year-old veteran fighter pilot wants is one last take-off roll down the runway in the power-packed aircraft before it bids adieu. 'This is one request which I will be making to the Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, whom I shall be meeting very soon,' says Air Marshal Tyagi in a freewheeling conversation with this reporter over the phone from his home in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The intrepid fighter pilot who flew almost every fighter aircraft in IAF's inventory till he retired in 1996 made Jamnagar his home after multiple tenures there and finally retiring as the air officer commanding of the Jamnagar air base. 'I would also be presenting my logbook, which I have meticulously maintained throughout my service from the first day to the last to the air chief with the request that it may be placed in the IAF museum, where it could serve as an inspiration for future generations,' says Air Commodore Tyagi. Air Commodore Tyagi has flown aircraft ranging from Vampires, Hunters, Gnat, Ajeet, Jaguar, Canberra, MIG-23, MIG-29, and Mirage during his service in the IAF from 1965 to 1996. Air Commodore Tyagi's first operational unit was 27 Squadron flying Hunters before he moved to MIGs. Initially he flew Vampires. In 1968 he trained on MIG-21s in the No. 45 Squadron in Chandigarh, where pilots were given operational conversion training on MIG-21 FL. 'Hunter was a docile aircraft. We never thought of MIG-21s as a problem aircraft, though it was very different. We never felt any problem. It was definitely fast handling, and the challenge was of a kind that you were always busy in the cockpit,' recalls Tyagi. He says the MIG-21 FL type 77 had a fixed gunsight while the Hunter had a gyro sight. 'In firing from a MIG-21, you have to cater for a lot of things. Also, Hunter used to turn very well, and we initially thought it turned better than MIGs. Later, after flying MIGs, I found that the vertical manoeuvring of the aircraft was very good. However, the aircraft would not react instantly, whatever the pilot demanded of it, and the pilot had to understand what the aircraft wanted,' he says. In those early days of MIG-21 in the IAF, the pilots used to wear pressurised spacesuits of the same kind that Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin had worn into space. 'Actually, when MIG-21 came to India, it was considered to be an interceptor aircraft. It was very agile at great heights, going up to 24 km at times at speeds close to 2.4 mach. You would be really climbing like a rocket. Then we modified it into the ground attack role with rocket pods and external guns, 500 kg bombs on either side, which we used extensively in the 1971 war. We used to get reasonably good results,' Air Commodore Tyagi says. Tyagi says that in the MIG-21 Type 96, the drag increased, and they were not as fast in the ground attack role. But with time came the MIG21 BIS upgrade, and it had a powerful engine. We flew to 12.3 km height in two minutes and 40 seconds. The Type 96 MIG 21 M was also very stable for air-to-ground firing,' he says. Having seen 24 postings in his operational service, Air Commodore Tyagi served in a number of MIG-21 squadrons and went on to command No. 35 and No. 32 squadrons besides serving a tenure in Iraq as an instructor. Air Commodore Tyagi underwent no ejection from MIG-21 but went through a crash landing on the runway in Pathankot in October 1978 and was very lucky to walk away alive. 'I had two rocket pods and three tanks on my aircraft. On short finals, I was asked to go around because of a dog on the runway. I raised my nose, opened maximum power, and started climbing. At around 150 m, the nozzle failed, the cone failed, the engine thrust went down, and the engine flamed out. As part of the ejection sequence which I initiated, the canopy flew off. But I saw that I was too low to continue the ejection within safety margins. The aircraft landed on its belly as the undercarriage was retracted for the go around. On the other side of the runway, there were five aircraft of the No. 3 Squadron waiting to fly, and I was in danger of piling into them. It was a Tuesday, and as I used to fast for Hanuman, I felt nothing would go wrong. The aircraft lurched to a halt well past these, and I unstrapped and ran out. I have never run so hard in my life, and the aircraft exploded behind me. Later, I flew more MIG-21s after the crash than I flew before. 'In 2013, the Russian ambassador gave me a trophy for the maximum hours on MIG-21. Earlier, in 1993, then PM Narasimha Rao called me and felicitated me. I never flew for myself. You flew for the people with you, and you gave them whatever positive things you learnt. The then chief presented me with a golden plaque,' says Air Commodore Tyagi. The veteran pilot says the growth of the IAF is related to the growth of MIG-21 in the country. 'Modernising gradually and slowly now we have reached the fourth generation. At one time, 70-75 per cent of IAF squadrons had MIG-21. When you calculate the rate of accidents, it is not alarming. But when you calculate the number, it is alarming,' he says. Air Commodore Tyagi says an IAF fighter pilot is a 'soldier pilot' because he puts his country ahead of his safety. 'In earlier MIG-21s, we used to see it written on the nose that 'this aircraft costs Rs 47 lakh'. Our pay at the time used to be Rs 1,200-1,400. You used to be conscious that India cannot afford to lose the aircraft. 'Later, when low-level sorties started and we went into the ground attack role, we used to have bird hits. The brief was to pull up, gain height and reheat the engine. But an engine with turbine damage will not relight. Our pilots tried to relight and were so low that ejection was not possible, and they used to crash with aircraft. Abroad, no pilot waits, he ejects,' he says. Air Commodore Tyagi says the fatalities went down when the procedures were amended. 'This is one of the best aircraft ever produced. Every fighter pilot in the world wants to fly a MIG 21,' he says.
