Officials from the Polish Air Force are investigating an incident involving a MiG-29 fighter jet accidentally fired from its 30mm gun on another fighter aircraft during a training exercise in Nadazice in the Greater Poland Voivodeship on May 14.
The story was first reported by Onet, which cited Polish military officials.
The Defense Ministry confirmed that “the State Commission for the Investigation of Aviation Accidents is investigating an aviation incident related to the damage to the hull of a MiG-29 22.BLT [Baza Lotnictwa Taktycznego] fighter during an exercise at the training ground in Nadazice.” However, the Ministry refused to respond to questions.
The crew of the fighter jet was not injured, but the aircraft itself was damaged and needs to be repaired.
“We don’t know what the weather and conditions were, but there was definitely a problem with the training of the crews and their compliance with safety rules,” says General Tomasz Drevniak, a former Air Force inspector.
Onet also quoted another pilot saying that if a bullet of this caliber hit the cockpit fairing, it would break the pilot’s head.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a comment by Polish General Staff.
At the Air Force Central Range in Nadazice, where the flights were carried out by the crews of the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork, there was an aviation incident, but this was not a situation where one fighter would fire at another. After the landing of the MiG-29, the technician discovered damage to the lower part of the fuselage, so the State Commission for the Investigation of Aviation Accidents investigated the damage case.
The MiG-29 aircraft that participated in the incident is now fully operational.
Odnosząc się do artykułu portalu @onetpl pt. Polski MiG-29 ostrzelał polskiego MiG-a podczas ćwiczeń, informujemy, że w połowie maja br. na poligonie w Nadarzycach w trakcie lotu szkoleniowego NIE DOSZŁO do ostrzelania samolotu MiG-29.
Więcej ⬇️⬇️⬇️https://t.co/U9Odzagdqf
— Dowództwo Generalne (@DGeneralneRSZ) June 8, 2021