Article Posted on : - Sep 06, 2011

The MiG-31 fighter. A file photo

MOSCOW (BNS): A MiG-31 fighter aircraft of the Russian Air Force crashed in the Perm region on Tuesday, killing two pilots on board.

The aircraft crashed minutes after taking off from a military airbase in the Perm region.

The jet disappeared from the radar screens at 06:41 Tuesday during a scheduled flight about 11 kilometres southwest of the Bolshoye Savino airfield.

At 07:34 Moscow time, a Mi-8 helicopter of the search and rescue service found the crash site, Itar-Tass news agency reported quoting a Defence Ministry official.

The aircraft was not carrying any weapons, the news agency said quoting the official.

A search and rescue group has been dispatched to the scene, it said.

The MiG-31 fighter is a supersonic interceptor aircraft of Russia. The RAF has been operating around 300 such aircraft since the 1980s.

All MiG-31s have been grounded following Tuesday’s accident, the Ria Novosti news agency said.