MOSCOW — A Russian air force jet crashed in the south Thursday and both crewmen bailed out safely, while another combat plane overturned after landing in a separate accident, hurting no one, the Defense Ministry said.
The MiG-29 fighter jet went down Thursday while on a training mission near the Ashuluk shooting range in the Astrakhan region, about 1,100 kilometers (nearly 700 miles) south of Moscow. The two crew members have been hospitalized, and one is in serious condition, according to health officials.
There is no damage on the ground.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the air force has grounded its MiG-29 fleet pending the outcome of an official probe.
The twin-engine MiG-29 has been a mainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since the 1980s and has been widely exported.
In a separate accident in the southwestern Voronezh region, a Su-34 bomber ran off the runway upon landing and overturned. The plane's two crewmembers weren't hurt, the Defense Ministry said.
It said the incident was caused by a failure of the plane's braking parachute.
