Romanian MiG-21 Crashes. SAR Helicopter Dispatched To Rescue Its Pilot Crashes Too Killing 7

A Puma helicopter that was launched to search and rescue a missing MiG-21 pilot crashed killing 7 crew members. MiG pilot still missing.

Mar. 2, 2022, has been a tragic day for the Romanian Air Force. First, a MiG-21 LanceR , that had taken off from the 57th Air Force Base Mihail Kogălniceanu at around 19. 50LT disappeared from radars at 20. 03LT in an area between Gura Dobrogei and Cogealac, west of Costanta, in the eastern part of Romania, not far from the Black Sea.

On March 2, in 20: 03, a MiG-21 LanceR Romanian Air Pressure from the 86th Air flow Base, carrying out a good air patrol mission over Dobrogea, disappeared from the radar. The aircraft had taken off from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57 from 19: 50. The state of the pilot & aircraft unknown. pic. twitter. com/Gng2ZyN81V

— Aeronews (@AeronewsGlobal) March 2, 2022

Search plus rescue operations were immediately launched. An IAR-330 (the Romanian built version associated with Aerospatiale SA 330) Puma helicopter took off from the same base and headed towards the area regarding the possible crash, looking for the missing initial. The helicopter lost the particular radio contact with the base around 20. 44LT in addition to crashed in the area of Gura Dobrogei, Constanta county, about 11 km from the airport.

The Romanian Atmosphere Force later announced that 7 military aboard typically the helicopter had been killed in the incident, including two rescuers of the Romanian Naval Forces. Search and even rescue operations of this pilot of MiG 21 LanceR aircraft are still underway.

Elicopterul care a plecat miercuri în căutarea unui MiG 21 al Forțelor Aeriene Române care a dispărut de pe radar s-a prăbușit și el.

Epava elicopterului a fost găsită, cei cinci militari care se aflau la bordul său și-au pierdut viața.

ℹ️ Detalii 👉 https://t.co/kcKl3z8MX9 pic. twitter. com/SvFYJJqDDY

— BoardingPass (@BoardingPassRO) March 2, 2022

The news of often the two crashes immediately fuelled some crazy theories. Social networks went abuzz with people speculating on the root causes of the incidents together with suggesting both aircraft were shot down by your Russian forces operating in the Dark Sea region . Many have called the crashes the new “Gulf of Tonkin” incident. Needless to say, based on the details released by the Romanian authorities so far, these speculations appear to be completely unsubstantiated. The airspace around Costanta is one of the most well-guarded in the region, considered also that will several NATO aircraft supporting enhanced Air Policing mission are deployed to Mihail Kogălniceanu and within QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) on an H24 basis. Moreover, weather was reported to be pretty bad in the area of the two crashes, with snow/rain and low ceiling. The bad weather and additionally the darkness may have contributed to one or both incidents. Without forgetting of which despite the upgrades, the MiG-21 LanceR remains a quite old aircraft.

Update 00: 45 Romania time, March 3rd / Sources say the pilot of the exact MiG-21 LanceR (reg unknown) managed to eject. The search & rescue teams deployed at the crash site (on land, in the Dobrogea region of Romania) are still looking with regard to him. The wreckage involving the MiG has been found. pic. twitter. com/RONhjPSA8A

— Aeronews (@AeronewsGlobal) March 2, 2022

We will update this story as new details emerge.

David Cenciotti is a new freelance journalist based inside Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous not to mention read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U. S., Europe, Australia and also Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is some sort of former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a good private pilot and your graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed in order to many more ones.

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