BUCHAREST, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A MiG 21 Lancer fighter of Romanian Air Force crashed on Monday in southeastern county of Constanta, with the pilot seriously injured after parachuting.
According to a press release from the Defence Ministry, the aircraft carried out a training mission in the "Thracian Eagle 2017" exercise, which is being conducted together with the Bulgarian Air Force.
After the mission, when returning to the air base, the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Adrian Stancu, reported a major engine failure during the execution of the landing maneuvers.
Stancu catapulted about 8 kilometers away from the county's Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport. The aircraft crashed out of inhabited areas.
Stancu was given first aid on spot and transported by a helicopter to a nearby hospital. He is aware and in a stable state, reported local media.
Once a Warsaw Pact member state, Romanian Air Force was left operating a large amount of MiG-21 Fishbeds after the breakup of the Soviet Union and remains Europe's largest MiG-21 operator.
The country began to upgrade its MiG-21 to MiG-21 Lancers from mid-1990s, converting the jets into the world's first operational aircraft to make use of a Helmet Mounted Display System.
Military statistics show that Romania imported a total of 400 MiG-21 fighters from the 1960s to the 1980s. Over the years, a total of 19 crashed, killing 11 pilots. Currently, there are 18 out of the existing 35 MiG fighters that can perform missions normally in the country, reported local media.
The country began to replace its fleet to upgrade its air forces to NATO standards and received six refurbished used F-16 Fighting Falcons fighter jets from Portugal last October.
