Indian Air Force Grounds 8 MIGs
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NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force has grounded eight of its Soviet-built MIG-21 aircraft, the backbone of its fighter fleet, after finding technical flaws in the planes, a newspaper said Friday.
The Tribune, Punjab state’s main English-language newspaper, quoted Air Force sources as saying that the fighter planes developed gas leaks, causing hydraulic pipelines to ignite.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said the report was exaggerated, but added, “Perhaps one or two developed faults.”
The Tribune said the problem was discovered by Air Force investigators probing the crash of three MIG-21 fighters within a short period. This led to the grounding of eight of the 11 aircraft based in Punjab’s capital, Chandigarh.
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