India will not ground Russian- made MiG-29K naval fighter jets after Moscow told New Delhi that the recent crash of one such aircraft in its Astrakhan region was not due to any technical defect, local media reported on Friday.
"We have got feedback from Russia (MiG Corporation) that the crash was due to 'pilot error'," Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma was quoted by The Times of India newspaper as saying.
India's decision came following Moscow's response to New Delhi' s query about the crash of such a fighter jet in the Astrakhan region of Russia on June 23 this year, which killed two pilots on board, Xinhua reported.
The Indian Navy has already inducted 11 of the 45 MiG-29K fighters ordered from Russia for over 2 billion U.S. dollars, with pilots beginning training on them in the western state of Goa ahead of the delivery of the 44,570-ton INS Vikramaditya in early 2013.