Filmed at Daraa, in southwestern Syria, the following video shows a Syrian Arab Air Force Mig-21 Fishbed seemingly leaking fuel before fire developed.
It’s not clear whether the aircraft sustained battle damage to its starboard wing or the leak was caused by something else. The video does not even show if the pilot was forced to eject (most probably he had to abandon the Mig-21 considered that a huge fire is clearly visible at the end of the footage leaving little room to any other option).
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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