An amount of Rs. 117.44 crores has been lost as service property and Rs. 1.36 crores have been paid to civilians as compensation in 18 out of 20 cases, finalised till date. Nine pilots have been killed in 20 cases of accidents occurred till date this year. Compensation for the pilots killed has been paid according to the rules.

    The Courts of Inquiry have identified human error (aircrew), bird hit and technical defects as the main causes of these accidents. Remedial measures are instituted after each Court of Inquiry, based on the recommendations of the Court of Inquiry.

    Measures to enhance the quality of training to improve skill levels, ability to exercise sound judgement and improve situational awareness are constantly being reviewed and implemented. Renewed thrust on acquiring simulators and trainer aircraft is also underway towards improving the quality of the man behind the machine.

    In the life cycle of any fighter aircraft, modifications/up-gradations are ongoing processes to keep the weapon platform technologically relevant. The air-worthiness of MiG-21s, has been ensured through periodic overhaul. there has never been any doubt on the air-worthiness of MiG-21 fleet.

    The main causes of accidents in the Indian Air Force involving the MiG-21 aircraft have been identified as Human Error (Aircrew) [HE(A)], Technical Defect (TD) and Bird Hit (BH). Measures are being taken to reduce accidents on a continuous basis in order to bring down the accident rates under all categories by formulation of Accident Prevention Programme, Environmental Cleanliness, Bird Hazard control, conduct of studies on HE and TDs and interaction with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited/Original Equipment Manufacturers. A total of 125 MiG-21 BIS variant aircraft have been planned for up-gradation. Out of these, two have already been upgraded in Russia during the design and development phase, which has been completed recently. It has been planned that the remaining aircraft will be upgraded at HAL, Nasik.

    This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri George Fernandes in a written reply to Shri Mohan Rawale, Shri YV Rao, Shri MV Chandrashekhara Murthy, Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde, Shri Dinesh Chandra Yadav, Shri Shriniwas Patil, Shri Ramjivan Singh, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Smt Shyama singh Smt Renuka Chowdhury, Shrik GS Basavaraj, Shri YS Vivekanda Reddy, Shri Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi, Shri GJ Javiya and Shri Kolur Basavanagoud in Lok Sabha today.