Russian Air Force MiG-31K with serial RF-95217 operated by the 929th V.P. Chkalova State Flight Test Centre overshot the runway on takeoff and broke in two.
The aircraft veered off the runway resulting in the collapse of the undercarriage and tearing off the forward fuselage section.
After the aircraft came to rest, both crew safely left the stricken aircraft without injuries.
According to the Defense Ministry, there are no casualties or damage on the ground.
The photos show the MiG-31 prone in the snow, with the right-wing plucked – and the front end partially destroyed, completely detached from the rest of the fuselage.
It’s hard to believe that this wreck will soon be “put back into service” as a working aircraft – even if “as soon as possible” is a flexible term.
However, the photos of the wreck reveal something about the aircraft itself. Because the identification RF-95217 , which can be read vaguely at the rear, can be used to determine that the jet is a MiG-31K – a specially optimized variant of the MiG-31, which serves as a carrier of the giant Ch-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
MiG-31 is a Soviet and Russian double supersonic high-altitude long-range interceptor fighter-interceptor. Developed in OKB-155 (now JSC RLK “MiG”) on the basis of MiG-25 in the 1970s.
Modernized MiG-31BM aircraft are already coming into service with the Russian Air and Space Forces.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
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