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Regretting the ill-informed criticism following a spate of accidents involving MiG 21 fighter aircraft, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal S Krishnasamy on Wednesday asserted that the Indian Air Force has the highest standard of air safety.
''I am not making my men fly coffins and as the chief of the force I am personally responsible for ensuring their safety,'' he said, adding that it is wrong to associate all air accidents involving MIG-21s with their so-called lack of battle-worthiness.
Krishnaswamy was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 43rd International Conference of Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine in New Delhi.
The MIG-21s form the backbone of the Indian Air Force and are an important constituent of India's defence and strike strength, he added.
He alleged that it has become a tendency, of late, to attribute any accident that involves the Russian-made MIG-21 to technical failures without even waiting for an evaluation.
Citing the two most recent crashes involving these aircraft, Krishnaswamy said the accidents involved an error of judgement induced by weather and limitations of the MIG-21 in terms of its endurance in such conditions.
He said the fighter has very limited fuel endurance and has to land within five to six minutes of finishing its flight, which makes it difficult for the pilot to keep it in air for long.
The air chief said the men who fly the MIG-21 are from the same stock that fly the Mirage-2000 and Su-30 and the record for the latter two is impeccable.
He said, ''The Mirage-2000 has not had a single problem in last one decade of its operation and the Su-30 have been safe in last five years of their operation by the Indian Air Force.''
UNI
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