MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Air Force has permitted flights by Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters, which were grounded after a MiG-29 crashed in the Tver region on May 12, Air Force spokesman Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
"This decision has been made by Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov after flight information collected in the data recording system of the crashed MiG-29 was received," Drobyshevsky said.
MiG-29 fighters' suspended flights did not affect the Air Force's combat readiness, the spokesman said. "Crews were on duty as usual and were ready to carry out any tasks in compliance with their mission," he said.
Mikhailov will visit the Andreapol garrison in the Tver region in the near future to analyze the cause of the MiG-29 crash, which experts blame on a technical malfunction and pilot error.
The fighter crashed when it was preparing to land at the Andreapol airfield at 11:51 a.m. Moscow time (0751 GMT) on May 12, killing the pilot.
It was the first plane crash in the Russian Air Force in 2005.