As reported by Indian media, on November 26, 2020, a two-seat MiG-29KUB Russian-made aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed in the Arabian sea during flights from the Indian aircraft carrier R 33 Vikramaditya.
A MiG-29K naval fighter (military number IN 830) from the 300th aviation squadron of the Indian Navy on the deck of the Indian aircraft carrier R 33 Vikramaditya during the us-Indian joint naval exercise Malabar 2020. 19.11.2020 (C) of the Indian Navy
The Indian defense Ministry said one of the plane's pilots ejected and was rescued, while the search for the second (Lieutenant commander Nishant Singh) "continues."
This is the third loss of the Indian ship MiG-29K / KUB in a year. On November 16, 2019, shortly after takeoff from the Indian Navy's Hansa air base (Dabolim) [...] a two-seat MiG-29KUB shipboard fighter crashed, and both Indian pilots then successfully ejected. The cause of the accident was called a collision of the plane with a flock of birds, with the birds getting into the engine and the subsequent fire. And on February 23, 2020 [...], a Single-seat MiG-29K shipboard fighter crashed during a training flight from the Hansa air base. The accident occurred over the sea off the coast of Goa, the pilot also successfully ejected and was rescued.
Earlier, the Indian Navy has already lost one MiG-29K aircraft that crashed during takeoff at the Hansa air base on January 3, 2018, the pilot also successfully ejected. Thus, in total, the Indian Navy has lost four MiG-29K / KUB aircraft to date, but the current disaster was the first loss of this type of aircraft in the Indian Navy during flights directly from the aircraft carrier's paouba, and, apparently, the first that led to the death of a crew member.
In total, under the contracts of 2004 and 2010, the Indian Navy received 45 MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB ship-based fighters (9-41 and 9-47) produced by JSC RSC MIG, which were delivered from 2009 to 2016. These aircraft are in service with the 300th and 303rd squadrons of the Indian naval aviation at the Hansa air base in Goa.
