Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From:  (D Murphy)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: MiG 23 crash
Message-ID: <7943@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 5 Jul 89 12:37:04 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Edinburgh University Chemistry
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Approved: military@att.att.com



From: D Murphy <>

BBC News tonight - a Soviet Airforce MiG 23 (Flogger I think) crashed near
Gent in Belgium after flying over West Germany and Holland without its pilot.
NATO radar detected the aircraft and interceptors (USAF) were scrambled when
it failed to turn back at the DDR/FDR border. It apparently took off from
a base in Poland.

Nothing was said about possible causes - the plane seemed to be in working
order until it crashed. Presumably (my opinion) the interceptor pilots noted
that the MiG was unoccupied and did not take any hostile action. The Soviet
plane crashed into a farmhouse, killing an 18 year old man according to the
news report I saw.

Perhaps (again, my opinion - nothing has been said about this) there is a
parallel with a similar incident a few years ago in which a Harrier GR5
on a test flight from British Aerospace was spotted by the crew of a USAF
transport over Southern England with no pilot and the canopy missing -
the Harrier continued in straight, level flight until it crashed into the
Atlantic SW of Ireland after running out of fuel. Faulty ejector seats ?

Murff....

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D.J. Murphy     *Artificial* intelligence ?  Evidently.....