Rupesh Samant

Panaji, Nov 18: Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik on Sunday praised both the pilots of crashed MiG-29K for pointing the aircraft away from the populated areas when it crashed on Saturday.

Trainer MiG-29K aircraft attached to INS Hansa base had crashed on a rocky plateau near Verna village on Saturday while both the pilots had ejected to safety.

Naik took on to twitter to appreciate the ‘presence of mind’ by both the pilots. “Brave work is done by MiG-29k twin-seater aircraft pilots – Capt M Sheokhand and Lt Cdr Deepak Yadav by showing the presence of mind and by pointing the aircraft away from the populated areas and ejecting safely. May God give them health and success,” he tweeted.

District Collector Ajit Roy talking to reporters on Saturday had said that left engine of the aircraft flamed out while the right engine caught fire due to a bird hit.

He had said that the incident happened as the aircraft on a routine sortie encountered a flock of birds after take off from INS Hansa Airbase at Dabolim.

The collector said that attempts to recover the aircraft were unsuccessful due to damage and low height. “The pilot with his presence of mind pointed the aircraft away from populated areas and both pilots ejected safely,” he said.

Both the pilots ejected in a populated area where they were provided help by the locals.