Czech's raise flight training hours
The Czech air force is to increase flight training from 50h to 60h for front-line pilots, in the wake of several recent accidents. The increase in flying hours has been ordered by Miloslav Vyborny, the Czech Republic defence minister.
The air force suffered three fast-jet crashes in November, resulting in the loss of a Mikoyan MiG-23UB Flogger, a Sukhoi Su-22M4 Fitter and a MiG-21MF Fishbed. The Flogger and Fitter incidents resulted in the deaths of the aircrew, while the Fishbed pilot was seriously injured. Following the recovery of the flight data recorded in the MiG-21, crash investigators identified foreign-object ingestion as the cause of the incident.
The pilot had flown the aircraft at low level, clipping several tree tops with debris being ingested into the intake.
Morale in the air force is poor, and a general lack of funding is blamed for the malaise.
Source: Flight International
