NEW DELHI, Nov 9: The Indian government has decided to phase out the air force’s Mig trainer aircraft following a series of crashes.

The decision to phase out the Mig-21 FL variant, one of the oldest Mig aircraft which forms the backbone of the IASF’s flying training units, was taken following Tuesday’s crash, the Indian Express said.

Tuesday’s crash was the latest in a series of accidents involving Indian fighter planes. The Indian air force has lost at least five fighters this year.

According to the defence ministry, the IAF has lost 92 planes to crashes in the last four years and these included 63 fighter planes.

The decision to phase out Mig trainers was taken after Defence Minister George Fernandes met senior air force officials on Friday to probe the causes behind repeated accidents involving fighter aircraft and to also look at the maintenance aspect.

Quoting Indian defence officials, the Indian Express added that the decision would affect training of pilots since there has been a delay in acquiring the Advanced Jet Trainer.

Following the phasing out of the Mig trainers, pilots making their critical jumps from subsonic and supersonic fighter jets will have to settle for lesser aircraft.

The government has also decided to seek design data from Russia and Britain to rectify faults. Both the Migs and Jaguars were manufactured under licence in India.—dpa