Pilot missing after MiG jet crashes into Arabian Sea

A MiG-29K fighter of the Indian Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea on Thursday, with search and rescue teams recovering one of the pilots while the other was still missing even as efforts to locate him have been intensified, navy officials said a day after the Russian-origin jet went down off India’s west coast.

The twin-seat trainer jet crashed at 5 pm after taking off from the deck of India’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, the officials said. Both pilots ejected from the aircraft before it went down, they added.

Thursday’s crash is the fourth accident involving the MiG-29K maritime fighter fleet.

Scores of warships and aircraft are scouring the Arabian Sea to locate the missing pilot identified by the navy as Commander Nishant Singh.