IAF grounds MiG-27 fleet for checks

New Delhi, Feb 23: Last week's MiG accident in West Bengal has reportedly prompted the Indian Airforce (IAF) to ground a fleet of over 100 MiG-27s.

As per various media reports, a engine snag is suspected behind the accident and the IAF has grounded the fleet in order to carry out checks.

The fleet will be allowed to fly again only after the checks have been completed.

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal PV Naik said that the latest Feb 16 MiG-27 crash is suspected to have been caused by failure of the low-pressure turbine blades.

Since Jan 2001, India has lost about 12 Russian-made MiG-27 fighter planes. The R-29 engines of the aircraft is seen as the main reason behind the ever increasing number of accidents.

OneIndia News