- What kind of aircraft was involved in the crash
- What kind of test mission was being simulated during the crash
A Russian Air Force MiG-29SMT Fulcrum-F crashed on Wednesday, August 18th, killing the pilot. The aircraft came down in an open area near the Ashchuluk training ground, in the Astrakhan region, during a routine training flight. The fighter was mocking an enemy aircraft by flying an a low-level, simulating a night-time bombing mission for the purposes of calibrating anti-aircraft systems as well as training other fighters. After flying over the intended target at an altitude of approximately 1,300ft, the aircraft turned and began to lose height before impacting the ground near the runway at Astrakan-Ashchuluk Air Base.
The Fulcrum aircraft was assigned to the 185th TsBLIBP VVS, which is a resident unit at the base. A commission for the High Command of the Russian Aerospace Forces was dispatched to the crash site to begin an investigation. It is the second deadly incident in as many days involving Russian military aircraft. A prototype Ilyushin Il-112V military transport plane with three people on board crashed during a test flight in the Moscow region on Tuesday.
