TO Valentin Vasilescu.
The MiG-21 LanceR aircraft, which was carrying out an air patrol task over Dobruja, crashed at 20:03, 13 minutes after taking off from the air base 57 named after Mihail Kogalniceanu, Constanta County. The search and rescue operation of the MiG 21 LanceR aircraft was launched by an IAR 330 helicopter, which also crashed at 20:21. Unfortunately, 8 Romanian soldiers died. It all happened 11 km north of Mr. Kogalniceanu’s airport. The Romanian Ministry of Defense denied suggestions that the avionics of the two aircraft were jammed by Russia from Snake Island.
What about? During takeoff or at low altitude, pilots monitor altimeters, vertical speed indicators, and airspeed indicators, which are barometric instruments and cannot be overridden.
It is most likely that the IAR-330 crashed due to icing on the helicopter blades (icing). In the case of the MiG-21, this could be a violation of the rules of flight by a young pilot with 500 flight hours under his belt. He was chosen to perform a night combat mission in very difficult weather conditions (low ceiling, poor visibility due to snow), which exceeded his capabilities for such weather. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the F-16 aircraft, although more combat-ready, did not take off that night. After all, their use should not violate the rules of flight, which are established by the rules of the USAF (US Air Force). And this despite the fact that there are many instructors on the ground who have worked more than 1000 hours on the MiG-21.
Valentin Vasilescu
Avic translation for the international network