Azernews.Az

An Azerbaijani air force plane crashed into the Caspian Sea on Tuesday during a training flight.
Both crew members on board MiG-29 were killed after the fighter jet plunged into the water depth of 15 meters near the Shurabad settlement some 35 km north of the capital Baku, the Ministry of Defense said. The reasons of the accident are being investigated.
Teams of the defense and emergencies ministries rushed to the site to conduct a recovery operation and a police post was set up in the area. The state traffic police have blocked access of journalists to the accident site.
The Ukraine-made MiG-29 is a 4th generation topnotch jet fighter aircraft that outclasses NATO's F-6 and Tornado fighter jets.
Azerbaijan acquired the upgraded MiG-29 aircraft early in 2007. The planes as well as fighter helicopters were presented at an air base near Baku in March.
Another flight was conducted on June 22, four days ahead of the Armed Forces Day, when the aircraft demonstrated maneuvering for half an hour. President Ilham Aliyev attended the event.
MiG-29, which is branded by NATO as "Fulcrum", is 17.37 meters long and 4.73 meters high, and has a wingspan of 11.4 meters. Its maximum speed is 2.4-2,445 km/h and the rate of climb is 330 m/s. The plane's maximum takeoff weight is 21,000 kg. The jet is supplied with UR-60 and R-27 missiles. MiG-29's range of combat is 700 km and it has the capacity to release 1,500 shots per minute. Its service ceiling is 18,013 meters.