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http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090313/120555015.html
Inspections of Russian fighter jets reveal signs of corrosion
13/ 03/ 2009

MOSCOW, March 13 (RIA Novosti) - Many of the Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter planes grounded after last December's crash have shown signs of metal corrosion, a military official said on Friday.

Since the MiG-29 crash in East Siberia last December, in which the pilot died, a Defense Ministry commission has inspected around 200 aircraft, clearing more than 100 for further flights, but finding about 90 to be defective.

Lt. Gen. Sergei Bainetov, head of flight security at the Russian Air Force, said that even new aircraft which had clocked no more than 150 flight hours showed signs of metal corrosion in their tail sections.

Experts are looking into the possible causes of the corrosion.

The December crash was the second in East Siberia involving a MiG-29 fighter in less than two months. In mid-October, a MiG-29 crashed 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Domna airfield in the Chita Region during a training flight. The pilot ejected safely.

Last year, two Russian Air Force MiG-29 fighters were involved in a mid-air collision over the Rostov Region. Both pilots ejected safely.

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90 Russian MiGs found unsafe to fly

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian air force says a significant part of its fighter fleet has been found unsafe to fly and been grounded.

A check of the fleet was begun after a MiG-29 crashed in southern Siberia on Dec. 5 during a training flight and the pilot was killed. Another such plane had crashed in the same area in October.

Air force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said Friday that about 90 MiG-29s had been found unsafe to fly and would need repairs. The check was conducted as a military panel continued looking into the cause of December's crash, which occurred when a part of the jet's tail section broke off.

Drik said about 100 other MiG-29s have been cleared for flights, and a number of others remain to be checked.

karatecatman · Guest

IAF to conduct tests on MIG 29 fleet

Chandigarh, Mar 20
The Indian Air Force will conduct tests on certain components of its MIG 29 fighter aircraft to ascertain their air worthiness, weeks after the Russian Air Force grounded its fleet of the war planes following detection of defects in them.
"The IAF will conduct ultra sound examination of certain components of the MIG 29 at 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of the force," Air Marshal Gautam Nayyar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance command, said.

Nayyar, who was on his farewell visit to the 3 BRD here, told reporters that "corrosion is seen" on some parts of the MIG 29 fighter aircraft.

He said that the IAF will get fully assembled 80 medium helicopters 'MI 17 V5' from Russia in June 2010.

The IAF is in the process of modernising, renovating hangers and upgrading infrastructure so that the new technology of medium helicopter is adopted.

"The repair, maintenance and overhauling of the medium helicopter will be undertaken at 3 BRD of the IAF," Nayyar said.

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www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-03-19/516285news.html
Mig maker claims it informed IAF for inspection of MiG-29
New Delhi, March 19: Amid growing concerns in India over safety of its MiG 29 fighter jet fleet after a majority of similar Russian aircraft were grounded, its manufacturers today said a notification was sent to IAF for the "methodic inspection" of the Indian planes.

"In January 2009, RAC-MiG, for the purpose of prompt notification of the IAF, we forwarded a (proposal for) methodic inspection of critical zones of the aircraft fins," Russian aircraft manufacturer RAC-MiG claimed in a release here.

Around 50 percent of the Russian MiG 29 aircraft were grounded after one of them crashed due to disintegration of its fin during a training sortie.

The IAF operates three squadrons of air superiority fighter comprising 54 aircraft and is getting them upgraded to increase their lifespan by another 15-20 years.

On the possibility of snags developing in the airframes of the 16 MiG 29Ks acquired by India, the company said "there is no question of any defect in the airframe structure even during long-term storage of the aircraft ."

Currently, Indian Navy pilots are being trained in Russia for operating these aircraft. Under the Admiral Gorshkov contract, India is acquiring these MiG-29Ks, the carrier-borne version of the air force fighters for the Navy.

RAC-MiG claimed since the early 1990s, Russian MiG 29s have not operated because of budgetary reasons and "some defects" in specific aircraft fins were found in a small number of aircraft during an inspection.

It claimed that after inspection, RAC-MiG's design bureau has issued specific procedures for rectification of the problem, which will enable these aircraft to remain fully operational through their service life.

Last year, Algeria, one of Russia's closest Cold War era allies, had returned 15 MiG-29s citing the poor quality of the aircraft.

The Russian Air Force has a fleet of about 300 MiG-29 fighters.

Air India and HAL may extend their services to do the tests.