Goa Navy MIG crash: Union Minister Naik praises pilots

Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik on Sunday praised both pilots of Navy MIG trainer that crashed in Goa for pointing aircraft away from populated areas.

MiG-29K aircraft, attached to INS Hansa base in Dabolim, had crashed on a rocky plateau near Verna vill on Saturday, with both pilots managing to eject safely.

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"Brave work done by MiG-29k twin seater aircraft pilots  Capt M Sheokhand and Lt Cdr Deepak Yadav by showing presence of mind and by pointing aircraft away from populated areas and ejecting safely. May God give m health and success," Naik, a Lok Sabha MP from rth Goa, tweeted.

District Collector Ajit Roy told reporters on Saturday that left engine of aircraft flamed out while right engine caught fire due to a bird hit. He had said incident happened as aircraft, on a routine sortie, encountered a flock of birds after take off from INS Hansa Airbase, adding that attempts to recover aircraft were unsuccessful due to dam and low height.

" pilot with his presence of mind pointed aircraft away from populated areas and both pilots ejected safely," Roy had said. 

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