Second Military Plane Crash Embarrasses Romania

A Romanian military IAR 99 Soim trainer aircraft crashed on Monday during an exercise in eastern Romania, a week after one of its old Soviet MiG-21 Lancer fighter jets crashed during an air show, killing the pilot.

The trainer crashed near the military air base in Bacau, eastern Romania. The two pilots ejected in time and were rescued shortly after the accident, the Defence Ministry said. One of them was slightly injured, the ministry added.

Defence Minister Mihai Fifor said last Friday that all Romania's old Soviet MiG-21 Lancer fighter jets would be grounded until the end of the investigation into the causes of the first crash.

Meanwhile, Romanian airspace will be guarded and air police missions carried out by four British Eurofighter Typhoons.

The IAR 99 Soim [Hawk] is an advanced trainer and light attack aircraft capable of performing close air support and reconnaissance missions. It is produced in Craiova, southern Romania.

Currently, the Romanian Airforce owns 21 IAR 99 aircraft, 11 of which are IAR-99 Soim. The aircraft are also scheduled for modernization works costing 124 million euros, so that the military can use them to train pilots for the new F16 jets, Minister Fifor said on Friday.

Romania plans to buy another 36 multi-role combat aircraft by 2022, after raising defence spending to 2 per cent of national GDP, so complying with NATO and US demands. 

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Romania Grounds Fighter Jets after Fatal Crash