On Monday, a MiG-21 jet crashed into a house in a village in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district. While the pilot bailed out, three women on the ground were killed. The incident is yet another reminder of the poor safety record of an aircraft that has been involved in more than 400 crashes in six decades since its induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1963. The MiG-21 has long earned the dubious sobriquet of “the flying coffin” even as the IAF plans to phase out the jets. Here is a look at its chequered history in India.
Long association
India’s longest-serving fighter jet, the MiG-21 was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design bureau in the former Soviet Union and made its maiden flight in 1955.
