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Indian pilots refuse to fly MiG 21
The pilots in the Indian Air Force have reportedly refused to fly the ageing MiG 21 in view of the fatal casualties and have demanded of the authorities to immediately replace the extremely demanding fighter aircraft. For a young fighter jock to refuse to fly, things must be pretty bad. Inside sources in the IAF said that after a Flying Officer, G.S. Grumman, managed to eject from his troubling MiG 21 in Jamnagar on Friday last, the young pilots assembled at the Base and lodged their written protest over forcing the fliers to have sorties on these machines which have been nick-named as "flying coffins" in view of the high rate of crashes and the loss of human lives. The pilotsâ assembly almost wore the look of a street protest, an unknown phenomenon in military, but seniors prevailed to cool down the young pilots assuring them of the redressal of their grievances. "We may be the rookie, bright-eyed and full of swashbuckling spirit but we cannot fly these âflying coffinsâ without adequate training and monitoring by our seniors," said an agitated young pilot. It may be mentioned here that the youngest pilots for the maximum number of sorties fly this oldest aircraft in the IAF. Senior pilots get their pick of the newest birds. Coupled with inadequate flying skills, lack of situational awareness and errors of judgment, the MiG 21st with several design limitations form a deadly mix, admitted an officer. Ya think? The Fridayâs crash, as per preliminary investigations, was caused due to an engine flameout. Technical defects and human errors have caused 40 per cent each of the around 320 category-I crashes (where the loss in men and the machine is total) witnessed by the IAF since 1990-1991, with the rest being attributed to bird his and other factors, said Group Captain A.V. Thakurdesai, Director of the IAF Flight Safety Department. Posted by: Steve 2004-02-26 |
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