The flight recorder and the bodies of two pilots of the Azerbaijani Air Force fighter MIG-29 were lifted from the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijani channel ANS reported on 24 February.
"The fighter remains and bodies of the two pilots were lifted from the Caspian Sea," the channel reported referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry press-service.
On 29 Jan, the Azerbaijan Air Force MIG-29 fighter crashed during a training session. Both pilots on board the fighter died. A case has been filed by the Military Prosecutor of Azerbaijan.
In 2007, Azerbaijan purchased a fighter MIG-29 from Ukraine.
Elena Lvova, PR head of the Russian aircraft constructing corporation, previously said to Trend that the crash may have been caused by the sale and use of out-of-date equipment. Lvova said that the producers had suggested several times that they be involved in the upgrade of the MIG fighters. "Only then would we have been liable," she said.
The MiG-29 "Fulcrum" was designed and built to be a single-seat supersonic, all-weather, air superiority fighter, representing the latest and perhaps the last fighter production item from the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The primary role of the MiG-29 is to destroy air targets at distances from 60 to 200 kilometers (30 to 110 NM) at all altitudes, on all profiles, in any weather conditions and under all ECM conditions. In addition, the basic MiG-29 is capable of limited air-to-ground operations and in its advanced versions, has been optimized to attack both the stationary and moving targets with precision guided munitions.