An Egyptian Air Force spokesperson claimed that a technical malfunction of aircraft control system caused the incident
As told by Sputnik News, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that a MiG-29M fighter has crashed in Egypt during a training flight.
The aircraft had been delivered to Egypt under a commercial contract in 2018.
“We have operational information about a crash of an Egyptian Air Force MiG-29M. In the near future, our technical experts will go to Egypt to assist in the investigation into the incident,” the United Aircraft Corporation confirmed.
Later in the day, an Egyptian Air Force spokesperson claimed that a technical malfunction of the aircraft control system caused the incident.
“The fighter jet crashed during the training flight in one of the training areas due to the technical malfunction of the aircraft control system. The pilot ejected safely,” he said in a statement.
The news comes a month after another MiG-29 fighter jet crashed in a forest near Moscow during a training flight due to an unknown cause.
The MiG-29 was conceived in response to a new generation of American fighters, which included the F-15 and F-16. Designed as an air defense fighter, this dual-purpose aircraft also possessed a ground attack capability. The task of producing a “frontal” or tactical fighter for the Frontal Aviation Regiments of the Soviet Air Force went to OKB MiG. Employing all the technical data available about the most advanced Western aircraft, the MiG designers started working on the MiG-29 in the early 1970s, and the first prototype made its first flight on Oct. 6, 1977.
The MiG-29 entered the operational service in 1982. Since then more than 1,600 Fulcrums have been built and sold to at least 30 countries around the world.
Photo by Dmitri Terekhov