BELGRADE, 6 Dec Air force MiG-21 training fighter pilots Croatia, which fell in the north-east of the country, ejected, one of them was injured, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic reported.
On Tuesday, around 14:00 local time (16:00 Moscow time), a Croatian MiG-21 crashed in the Virovititsko-Podravina County during a training flight. It was a training model of a fighter with a two-seat cockpit. According to preliminary data, his engine failed, but both pilots managed to eject, one of them was injured. The police and rescuers were involved in the search, the pilots were found, they were taken by helicopter to Zagreb and underwent a medical examination.
«One of them has injuries, examinations are being carried out, we expect a doctor's report soon. This once again confirms that it is necessary to invest in aviation, in generation 4+ aircraft and in people — pilots and technicians. Incidents like this show the readiness of the Croatian army to successfully carry out tasks despite on challenges and the state of equipment,» Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said at a briefing.
He also refused to resign in connection with the incident, which opposition MPs proposed on Tuesday. The downed fighter, according to the Ministry of Defense, was repaired in 2013 and 2014.
Currently, two to four Soviet-made MiG-21 fighters remain in working condition in the Croatian Air Force. An attempt to buy and repair twelve MiG-21s purchased in Ukraine in Odessa ended in March 2019 with a prison sentence for a high-ranking official of the Croatian Ministry of Defense and a local businessman — they were found guilty of bribery and poor-quality repairs.
Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banojic and his French counterpart Florence Parly signed an agreement in November 2021 for the acquisition by Zagreb of a squadron of 12 Rafale fighters worth 999 million euros, including taxes, the amount reached 1.2 billion euros. The transfer of cars and training of pilots is expected to stretch over several years.