A Polish Armed Forces MiG-29 fighter jet has crashed in the north of the country and the has pilot perished, the Polish Defense Ministry said.
"During a night flight, a MiG-29 plane from the 22nd Tactical Aviation Base crashed. The pilot catapulted in the area of the city of Sakuvko, 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Malbork. The wreckage of the plane was found about 1.5 kilometers (0.62 miles) from the city. The emergency services doctor pronounced the pilot dead," the ministry said in a statement.
The late pilot had clocked more than 850 flight hours, including more than 600 hours on the MiG-29, on which he performed combat duty, repeatedly took part in national and international exercises, the Defense Ministry reported.
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At the end of 2017, another Polish Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet crashed in the area of Minsk-Mazowiecki near Warsaw. The pilot survived, although he did not eject from the plane midair.
The Polish army has a fleet of 48 US F-16s as well as 32 MiG-29s, several of which have been grounded due to a lack of spare parts.
