MiG-23 jet crashes in Michigan Air show
A MiG-23 jet crashed at a Michigan air show. The jet is a privately owned Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23UB Flogger C fighter jet with registration N23UB.
 |
| Jet crash site in Belleville (Photo: Hasan Ahmed) |
The jet was destroyed after it crashed near an apartment complex during the "Thunder Over Michigan" air show near Willow Run Airport.
The MiG-23 "nosedived like a bullet" and crashed near an apartment complex
Footage of the crash, taken by witnesses, showed both pilots surviving after ejecting at low altitude over Michigan's Willow Run Airport and one of them landing in Belleville Lake.
The 25th Thunder Over Michigan is one of the leading air shows in the US, starting Saturday through Sunday.
Also, read: Powerful Explosion Occurs in Pennsylvania Settlement, 5 Killed.
The Detroit News reported that smoke was seen south of the airport, allegedly at the crash site of the plane following the Thunder of Michigan air show.
In a statement, the Wayne County Airport Authority confirmed no one at the apartment complex or the air show sustained injuries.
Currently, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the exact cause of the air incident.
The MiG-23 is the flagship fighter jet of the Soviet Air Force
Quoting Scramble Magazine (14/8), this private MiG-23 aircraft was purchased from the Czech Republic, the former Czech Air Force.
Regarding the MiG-23, it is a variable geometry winged fighter jet that became the mainstay of the Air Force of the Soviet Union and its friendly countries developed in the 1960s.
The prototype MiG-23 successfully made its maiden flight on 10 June 1967 and entered service in 1970.
Since then 5,000 aircraft have been produced, making it the most produced variable geometry winged fighter/attack jet in history.
The MiG-23 family was used in 32 countries around the world including the Soviet Union, which was succeeded by Russia.
As of 2021, several MiG-23s are still in service with the Air Forces of Angola, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe.