MiG-29 aircraft crashes in Goa's Dabolim airport after going off runway; pilot ejects safely

A Mig-29 aircraft crashed in Goa's Dabolim airport on Wednesday after going off runway. However, media reports said that the pilot ejected to safety and there were no casualties.The fire in the aircraft was being extinguished, news agency ANI reported. It also said that the Goa airport's runway was shut down and further firefighting was in progress.The Indian Navy confirmed the news, and a spokesperson posted on Twitter that it was an under-trainee pilot who was at the wheel."The pilot is safe. When the pilot was taking off, there was some malfunction in the aircraft which we will have to investigate," Real Admiral Punit K Bahl, Flag Officer Commanding Goa Area (FOGA), told PTI."The pilot crossed over the other end and, luckily the aircraft then retarded and about 150 metres off the edge of runway he turned left and stopped there."After that the pilot descended from canopy and he came out of the aircraft and there was little fire and smoke at the aircraft, which is now under the control," Bahl said."This is the first main incident of the MiG29K since the time it was inducted," he said.The incident happened 10 minutes before a civilian aircraft was scheduled to land at the airport, Goa airport director BCH Negi told PTI.Operations at the airport were suspended after 12.30 pm but resumed around 1.40 pm, he said.A report on NDTV said this is the first Mig-29 to be lost by the Indian Navy which operates the jet off the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya from Karwar on the Goa-Karnataka border. The aircraft will also be deployed off INS Vikrant, the first indigenous aircraft carrier being built for the navy, the report mentioned. BCH Negi, the Airports Authority of India director for Goa airport, told IANS that the runway was closed for now. "It has been closed for an hour as of now," he said.With inputs from agencies