Panaji, March 22 (IANS) The Goa legislative assembly Monday condoled the death of a MIG-27 pilot of Goan origin, with the opposition calling the increasing death of MIG pilots “as an insult to brave soldiers”.
Speaking during the condolence motion, Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar said the death of Wing Commander Oswald de Abreu Feb 16 this year had only endorsed the status of MIG-series fighter planes as a “flying coffin” and that time had come to take “serious steps such as grounding the fighter planes”.

“MIG 21 is called flying coffin. Is the Mig 27 also becoming one too? The Indian Air Force is losing a lot of pilots. We are losing 20 to 30 pilots each year,” the former chief minister said.

Abreau, a pilot of Goan origin died last month when his MIG 27 fighter crashed near Hashimara in West Bengal.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also said that such deaths were an insult to the brave soldiers of India.

“Too many accidents are taking place and our brave pilots are dying. Such deaths are an insult to a brave soldier, who is braving his life for the nation. You cannot lose dedicated persons to technical error,” Parrikar said.