<p>A Group Captain of the Indian Air Force died on Wednesday when the Mig-21 Bison he was flying crashed near Gwalior.</p>.<p>“A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of IAF was involved in a fatal accident this morning while taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India. The IAF lost Group Captain A Gupta in the accident,” an IAF spokesperson said.</p>.<p>A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.</p>.<p>The accident took place at around 10:50 am, the officials said.</p>.<p>The Soviet-origin Mig-21 Bison is an upgraded version of the Mig-21 aircraft that IAF began inducting in the 1960s. While the older generation MiG-21s have been phased out, the IAF still flies four squadrons of the upgraded MiG-21 Bis.</p>.<p>The IAF plans to fly these aircraft at least till 2025.</p>.<p>In January, another MiG-21 Bison crashed at Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Fortunately, the pilot was able to eject that time.</p>.<p>Months before the two accidents, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria flew a MiG-21 Bis at Suratgarh.</p>.<p>Incidentally, it was a MiG-21 Bison that was being flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in the dogfight with the Pakistan Air Force before his aircraft went down.</p>.<p>In June 2019, the Ministry of Defence informed the Parliament that 27 IAF aircraft have crashed since 2016.</p>
<p>A Group Captain of the Indian Air Force died on Wednesday when the Mig-21 Bison he was flying crashed near Gwalior.</p>.<p>“A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of IAF was involved in a fatal accident this morning while taking off for a combat training mission at an airbase in central India. The IAF lost Group Captain A Gupta in the accident,” an IAF spokesperson said.</p>.<p>A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.</p>.<p>The accident took place at around 10:50 am, the officials said.</p>.<p>The Soviet-origin Mig-21 Bison is an upgraded version of the Mig-21 aircraft that IAF began inducting in the 1960s. While the older generation MiG-21s have been phased out, the IAF still flies four squadrons of the upgraded MiG-21 Bis.</p>.<p>The IAF plans to fly these aircraft at least till 2025.</p>.<p>In January, another MiG-21 Bison crashed at Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Fortunately, the pilot was able to eject that time.</p>.<p>Months before the two accidents, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria flew a MiG-21 Bis at Suratgarh.</p>.<p>Incidentally, it was a MiG-21 Bison that was being flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in the dogfight with the Pakistan Air Force before his aircraft went down.</p>.<p>In June 2019, the Ministry of Defence informed the Parliament that 27 IAF aircraft have crashed since 2016.</p>
