A two-seater Croatian Air Force MIG-21UM (reg. 164) plane crashed during a military drill today around 14:00 CET in an uninhabited forest area of Slatina in northeastern Croatia but both pilots were rescued, the Croatian Defence Ministry said.
The pilots successfully ejected from the plane and landed safely, the ministry said, adding that they were in a stable condition, had no life-threatening injuries and would be examined in hospital.
Two army helicopters, military police and drones were deployed to search for the pilots, assisted by civil protection officers and firefighters.
This is the third crash of a military aircraft in Croatia since 2020, when four pilots were killed in two separate accidents.
On 25 November 2021 signed the contracts for the acquisition of 12 Rafale fighters from France (10 single seaters and two twin seaters) to replace venerable MiG-21s.