MiG accounts for half of fighter jet crashes in 17 years

Three out of five jet types saw a decline in crashes over the past 15 years

Russian-origin MiG-21 aircraft are set to retire from the Indian Air Force (IAF) in September amid ongoing safety concerns, marking the end of their 62-year-long service in the IAF. Between FY09 and FY25, 101 IAF fighter jets crashed, costing the lives of 28 pilots. Over 54 of these crashes involved MiGs. While MiG accidents have declined in the past 15 years, recent crashes involving Mirage (FY25), Hawk, and Tejas (FY24) aircraft surfaced. IAF has reduced reliance on MiGs and is transitioning to the indigenous Tejas jets. In its analysis of 25 crashes during 2017-21, a parliamentary report cited ‘human error’