Another MiG-31 interceptor aircraft of the russian armed forces was lost during a training flight, as officially informed by the Pacific Fleet of the russian Navy. The aircraft carried no weapons and was involved in pilot training near Avacha Bay on the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, to the very east of russia.
As of this article is being written, there is no data whether the two MiG-31 pilots have been found, neither is known about the reasons that led to the accident. Though worth noting, this is the sixth time this type of aircraft was lost in a non-combat situation since early 2022, when russia started actively use MiG-31s in the invasion of Ukraine, if we consider only the publicly announced cases.
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Let's recall them:
- February 29th, 2022 – a MiG-31 strayed from the runway during an attempt to take off in Novgorod Oblast, part of the aircraft was torn apart.
- April 8th, 2022 – one more interceptor fell in Leningrad Oblast due to an undisclosed malfunction during the flight.
- October 4th – a MiG-31, probably even the MiG-31K variant capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles, strayed out of the runway of Belbek air base in occupied Crimea and fell from a cliff (see video below).
- December 2nd – Primorsky Krai, also due to an undisclosed malfunction.
Moving next to the year 2023, the first accident took place on April 26th in Murmansk Oblast. The engines caught fire mid-air, the aircraft fell into a lake.
Once again, only the publicly announced instances, the list doesn't include, for example, the episode that happened in December 2022 when the Belaruski Hajun community reported one more MiG-31K put out of order because its engine caught fire during takeoff.
Importantly, in a standard situation even a single loss of a particular type of aircraft means it must be temporarily suspended from service until the exact reason of the accident is established. In certain cases, the usage of the suspended aircraft may be allowed but generally none can be boarded until the end of investigation.
Nevertheless, there's no information about any restrictions being put on operating MiG-31, and the systematic losses of more aircraft suggest that there are no measures being applied at all. The tempo of six planes in just 1.5 years is indeed an interesting trend because throughout the 2010s, russia officially lost exactly 10 MiG-31s.
Read more: It seems That russia Lost a Rare MiG-31 With the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal at Belbek Air Base in Occupied Crimea, the Pilot Died
