Russian MiG-31 Jet Burst Into Flames Before Crashing Into Lake
A Russian interceptor aircraft crashed into a remote area in northwestern Russia on Wednesday.
Both pilots ejected before the MiG-31 went down, and there were no report of civilian injuries.
The accident comes just days after another jet accidentally bombed a Russian city.
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A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in a remote part of northwestern Russia on Wednesday, marking the latest in a string of aviation accidents.
The aircraft was flying a routine training mission in Russia's Murmansk region — which borders NATO's newest member Finland — when it crashed in a deserted area, state media outlet TASS reported, citing a statement from Russia's defense ministry.
"Both pilots ejected themselves. They were promptly evacuated by a search and rescue helicopter. Their lives and health are not at risk," the statement reads, according to TASS. It was not immediately clear what caused the aircraft to crash, though TASS, citing law enforcement, reported that one of the engines caught fire. There were no initial reports of civilian casualties.
Videos posted to social media captured the high-speed combat aircraft streaking across the sky in flames before it ultimately took a nosedive and plummeted toward the earth.
Footage published by state-run media outlet Russia Today showed wreckage of the MiG-31 strewn across a frozen lake, where law enforcement also told TASS the plane crashed. RT cited witnesses saying that the aircraft crashed over 200 feet from the shore.
The MiG-31 — also referred to as Foxhound by NATO — first entered service in 1975 as a successor to the Soviet-era MiG-25. The fighter jet can push speeds of Mach 3, and can also fly at incredibly high altitudes.
Wednesday's crash comes just days after a Su-34 fighter jet accidentally bombed the Russian city of Belgorod, just north of the country's border with Ukraine, injuring several civilians and leaving a massive crater in the ground. Russia's defense ministry claimed that the incident occurred because of an "abnormal descent of aviation ammunition" by the pilots.
There have been other incidents in recent months as well. In mid-October, for instance, a Russian military aircraft crashed into a residential building in the Western port city of Yeysk, killing over a dozen people,and just a few days later, a Russian warplane crashed into an apartment building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk — leaving both pilots dead.
Source: Business Insider
