MiG-21 LanceR fighter crashes in Romania, pilot dead

A MiG-21 LanceR fighter of the Romanian Air Force crashed Saturday in an air show at Borcea Base in Fetesti, southeastern Romania, leaving the pilot dead, the Defense Ministry said.

Lieutenant-Commander Florin Rotaru, 36, pilot of the MiG 21 LanceR aircraft that collapsed in Fetesti, died, the ministry said in a statement.

This is the 20th MiG-21 LanceR fighter that crashed in Romania and the 12th pilot who died in a flight accident of this aircraft type.

The pilot parachuted after ensuring that the plane left the air base where some 4,000 spectators were watching the air show organized on the occasion of the Borcea airbase Open Day. The plane finally fell on a farmland about 10 km north of the base.

The crash would have been preceded by an explosion and followed by a fire at the impact of the soil, according to eyewitnesses.

Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor is currently on his way to Borcea base, the ministry said soon after the accident.

The LanceRs are modernized MiG-21s from mid-1990s that were given new avionics for all-weather operations, more modern avionics and the ability to employ PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions).

Once a Warsaw Pact member state, Romanian Air Force now remains Europe's largest MiG-21 operator.

Military statistics show that Romania imported a total of 400 MiG-21 fighters from the 1960s to the 1980s. Currently, less than 20 MiG fighters can perform missions normally in the country.

The country has begun upgrading its air forces to NATO standards and received refurbished used F-16 Fighting Falcons fighter jets from Portugal starting 2016.