MiG-21 had an accident rate of 2.89 per 10,000 flying hours in the 1990s but it was brought down to 0.27 per 10,000 hours in the last 2000s. However, this does not mean that MiG-21 is a "bad fighter jet" as considered by some

New Delhi: Jagran News Desk: In yet another saddening news, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday lost one of its pilots - Wing Commander Harshit Sinha - after the MiG-21 aircraft in which he flying crashed near the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. The crash, as per officials, took place at around 8.30 pm in the Desert National Park area under the Sam police station.

"With deep sorrow, IAF conveys the sad demise of Wing Commander Harshit Sinha in the flying accident this evening and stands firmly with the family of the Braveheart," the IAF said in a Tweet.

The crash has once again turned the spotlight on MiG-21 and concerns about its safety. MiG-21 is India's longest-serving fighter aircraft and the IAF uses its Bison variant presently. The IAF has four squadrons of the Soviet-era fighter jets which are set to be replaced in the next three to fours with HAL Tejas and other aircraft under the modernisation plane of the Indian Armed Forces.

In 1963, India had inducted 874 MiG-21 fighter jets. However, over 400 of them have crashed in the past six decades, claiming over 200 lives, former Union Defence Minister AK Antony had said in Parliament in 2012. This has helped MiG-21 earn nicknames like "Flying Coffins" and "Widow Makers".

Why Do MiG-21 Fighter Jets Keep Crashing?

MiG-21 had an accident rate of 2.89 per 10,000 flying hours in the 1990s but it was brought down to 0.27 per 10,000 hours in the last 2000s. However, this does not mean that MiG-21 is a "bad fighter jet" as considered by some. MiG-21 is considered as one of the best fighter jets of its era, but the is way beyond its time that has resulted in more of its accidents.

Experts believe that calling MiG-21s "Flying Coffins" and "Widow Makers" is completely "unfair and unsubstantiated" that has also proved its worth during the India-Pakistan skirmish in 2019 when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shot down an F-16 of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) using his MiG-21.

"It is a single-engine fighter and when it loses that engine, it needs to be re-started (called a 'relight'). More often than not, it relights, but it takes a finite amount of time to relight any jet engine, so if you are below the minimum height (so with insufficient time to relight) you have to leave the aircraft. I haven’t heard of a single incident where MiG-21 ejection seat quit on someone," said Group Captain MJA Vinod.

"I think calling the MiG-21 as 'flying coffin' is the biggest myth. Our previous Air Chief, ACM BS Dhanoa proved to everyone that indeed it is the safest of aircraft, by flying it as and when he could. In fact, his last flight was with Wing Commander Abhinandan," he added.

How India Is Planning To Phase Out MiG-21s?

The IAF is replacing the MiG-21s with modern fighter jets like Rafales and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, but that is expected to take another two to three years.

"Discontinuation of flying the MiG-21 immediately is not the answer. In another two to three years, they will be phased out as soon as they get to their life's end. Our plan to induct 36 Rafales is on target. Once the Rafales are inducted, the focus will be on the induction of the LCA over the next three-and-a-half years," former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhaduria had said in June.