Why are MiGs flying coffins for IAF pilots?

New Delhi: The crash of a MiG-21 Bison and the death of a pilot near Uttarlai air base in Barmer, Rajsthan, on Monday, is yet another mishap in the troubled history of an aircraft that has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent times. In the IAF, pilots literally dread flying the MiG machines. Because, as many as 482 MiG-21s had been involved in accidents and as many as 171 pilots, 39 civilians and eight persons from other services lost their lives in these accidents in the last 40 years.In this way, the Indian Air Force has lost more than half of its total fleet of 872 MiG aircraft.While Defence Minister A K Antony says, the reasons for MiG air crashes are due to both human error and technical defects, the ground realities tell a different story. Delays in getting replacements for the ageing fleets appears to be the main reason. The present MiG fleet is overstretched, says a Parliament Standing Committee report. India bought its first MiG in 1966 from Soviet Union. While the IAF has grounded the MiG-23MF, MiG-23BN and MiG-25, the MiG-27 and 29 have still got more than 25 years of life.The air force has already begun phasing out MiG-21s in batches and they would be out of service by the end of the decade.The MiG-27s will be phased out next and the MiG-29s are being upgraded. All these aircraft are stationed at frontline bases across the country - from Hashimara in the east to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in the west.IAF pilots say, pilots in neighbouring Pakistan have been flying sophisticated fighter aircraft, while the Indian counterparts are flying aged MiG aircraft. The MiG-21 is a particularly difficult aircraft to manoeuvre because of its high-speed landing and restricted runway visibility owing to the canopy design. Since it is a single-engine aircraft, bird-hits tend to affect it more. Environmental factors peculiar to Indian conditions, too, impact the aircraft. At present, the IAF has 33 squadrons of fighter jets of all types including MIGs, Jaguars, Mirage and SU-30, the projected strength is 42 to maintain operational preparedness and edge over Pakistan and China. The MiG 21 Bison is an upgraded version of the MiG 21, which was dubbed the ‘flying coffin' after a spate of crashes that killed its pilots. However it forms a major part of the Indian Air Force's fighter jet squadron. MiG-21 had played a stellar role during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. One MIG-21 demonstrated its powerful punch near the Kutch border by shooting down one Pakistani supersonic F-104 Starfighter in an aerial dogfight. Three more Pakistani F-104 Starfighters bit the dust before MiG-21 jet fighters in the next few days. It is agreed by one and all of the veteran fighter pilots that the MIG-21 is tricky to handle, highly unforgiving. But to brand it as a “flying coffin “or a “widow-maker” is unfair. The MiG-21 has the distinction of holding a number of aviation records, including the most produced jet aircraft in aviation history, the most produced combat aircraft since WWII, and the longest production run of a combat aircraft. Over 11,000 MiG-21 aircraft, derivatives and copies have been built since 1959 and have served with 50 air forces. Because of its low cost and ease of maintenance, even by poor countries, it came to be known as the “people's fighter”. The first flight of the MiG-21, made by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, was in 1955 and induction into the Soviet Union air force began in 1959. Russia retired its MiG-21s in the 1990s. The MiG-21, despite its lack of sophisticated avionics, was agile and extremely uncomplicated to manufacture. This made it a valuable military export for the Soviet Union to many countries, more than 30 and in particular India and China. IAF began with MiG-21s, but went on to progressively induct swing-wing MiG-23s, strategic reconnaissance MiG-25s, medium-range strike MiG-27s and in the 1980s, air defence MiG-29s as well, to its inventory. India inducted upwards of 1,200 MiGs, two-thirds of them being MiG-21s, over the decades. The MiGs constituted over 75% of its total combat fleet. Though French and British fighters also joined the force later, the MiG saga still continues. But the delta-winged MiG-21s have had a horrific crash-rate in recent decades. The statistics are, indeed, chilling. The IAF had plans to operate over 100 upgraded MiG-21 ‘Bisons' at least till 2017. According to the Defence Minister, A K Antony, the IAF will begin phasing out its dreaded MiG-21 fighter jets in 2014.