Reports said the jet crashed near a “dormant volcano” and that it had fallen around nine in the morning. Search and rescue brigades were sent to find the pilot.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANAn Iranian fighter jet unveiled August 21, 2018(photo credit: TASNIM NEWS AGENCY)
An Iranian MiG-29, one of only a handful in Iran’s air force, crashed in Ardabil province in northern Iran. According to Fars News it was flown by an experience Iranian pilot with the rank of colonel and fell in adverse weather conditions near snow-covered mountains.Reports said it crashed near a “dormant volcano” and it had fallen around 9 a.m. Search and rescue brigades were sent to find the pilot.Iran’s air force is made up of aging planes and it cannot afford to lose them. These include old US-built planes that predate the Iranian Revolution and were bought by Iran in the 1970s. This includes the F-4, F-5 and F-14s. Iran had tried to acquire more than the 20 MiG-29s it had in the 1980s from the then-chaotic former Soviet Union. But sales were blocked with US pressure. It has tried to overhaul them recently. Now, it has one less.
