[Photo] Croatian MiG-21 experiencing engine fire moments before crashing

August 6, 2014 Aviation Safety, Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

Impressive photo shows Croatian Air Force Mig-21 about to crash following engine failure.

On Aug. 5, 2014, at around 2:47 PM LT, a Croatian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed “121” crashed in an uninhabited the area at Donja Lomnica near Velika Gorica, Croatia.

According to the Croatian MoD, the aircraft was returning from a mission when it suffered an engine fire as well as a landing gear problem.

Fortunately, the pilot managed to eject safely from the plane.

The MiG-21 lost on Aug. 5, was not one of the 12 Fishbeds overhauled in Ukraine and stuck there until a few weeks ago, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

In this post you can find one of the photos of the incident, published by the Croatian media outlet VGDanas.

Image credit: VGDanas

About David Cenciotti

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.