11 days after the crash, the Indian Navy has recovered, what appears to be, the remains of the pilot who had ejected over the Arabian on November 26. The mortal remains of Commander Nishant Singh were recovered in the Arabian Sea, 70 metres below water and 30 miles off the Goa coast.
The trainer aircraft had crashed on November 26 at around 5 pm in the Arabian Sea after it ditched off Goa.
A statement from the Indian Navy said: ‘Mortal remains of a human body have been recovered in the vicinity of the wreckage site. The samples are being sent for DNA testing for confirmation of identity.’
Commander Nishant Singh, the instructor at the controls of the MiG-29K jet, had gone missing after the aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea on November 26. Another pilot, who had gone missing after the incident was found soon after the crash.
In the event of ejection handles being pulled, the pilot in the rear seat of the MiG-29K is ejected first, followed by the pilot in the front.
The trainee pilot had said that he had seen a second parachute go off after he ejected himself. On December 1, Navy specialists located the primary wreckage of the Russian-built twin-seat fighter.
‘All sections of the aircraft wreckage, including ejection seats, have been accounted for using side scan sonar and HD cameras,’ the statement said.
The government conducted a massive aerial, coastal, and surface search operation involving naval ships and aircraft to locate Commander Nishant. Divers carried out underwater searches using specialised equipment to map the seabed around the primary wreckage site.
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