A MiG-31 interceptor-fighter of Kazakhstan’s Air Force crashed near the Karaganda airport, with the crew ejecting to safety, the republican Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
The military plane crashed “in the course of performing a planned combat duty training flight,” the ministry said.
The incident occurred south of the Karaganda aerodrome. “After the take-off, a fire started in one of the engines. After receiving the command to eject, the pilots directed the plane into the field away from a populated area and after making sure that nothing threatened the civilians, the crew ejected. The pilots are alive,” the ministry said.
The Kazakhstani defense minister has set up a commission to investigate the incident. A search and rescue team of the republic’s Air Force has arrived at the scene.
