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One Mirage 5C2000 fighter jet crashed on Tuesday in Katara. During the take-off from Dokha airbase, one of tires exploded and the fighter was thrown away from the runway. Crew members suffered minor injuries.

RIA Novosti

Pilot Killed In Helicopter Crash


BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) - A Duke University Medical Center helicopter crashed shortly after the pilot initiated a maintenance check while en route to pick up a patient.

The pilot, the only person on board, was killed in the late Monday crash.

The helicopter was going to pick up a patient when the pilot noticed something wrong and landed the plane at Burlington hospital, a Duke news release said.

The pilot conducted a maintenance check while the rest of the crew ferried the patient by ambulance to Duke, in Durham about 30 miles away. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft crashed and caught fire in a residential neighborhood.

The identity of the pilot, who worked for Corporate Jets of Pittsburgh, was not immediately released.

No injuries or damage was reported in homes surrounding the accident.

``We're very fortunate,'' Burlington Police Maj. Randy Jones said.

National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating.

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A plane believed to be carrying Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan crashed in rain and fog on Monday night and the Democratic state party chairman said that the governor was ``missing.''

Carnahan, who has been governor of Missouri for eight years, was running for the Senate and had been locked in a tight race with incumbent Republican Sen. John Ashcroft.

The governor and two other people had been aboard a small, private plane that crashed 30 miles southwest of St. Louis late on Monday. It went down shortly after takeoff. The three had been headed to New Madrid, Missouri.

Ray Temple, the Democratic state chairman, said the governor was ``missing'' but declined to say that he had been killed.

U.S. Still Ahead of China in Military Capabilities, Says Report

(Source : US State Department ; issued Oct. 11, 2000)

While China has been busily acquiring high-tech upgrades, especially from Russia, for its military, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) still trails U.S. forces in capability, according to a report prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for Senator Daniel Akaka (Democrat of Hawaii).

Discussing the report in an October 10 speech in the Senate, Akaka said the report concluded that "the operational significance of these major qualitative upgrades through foreign arms acquisitions remains to be seen and will depend in large measure on the PLA's ability to demonstrate an ability to conduct effective joint military operations."

The CRS report entitled "China's Foreign Conventional Arms Acquisitions: Background and Analysis" compared China's new conventional weapons to American capabilities, and found that "in most cases — with some critical exceptions — American forces still retain a tactical and strategic edge."

The United States, the Hawaiian Democrat said, "should not be complacent."

The Beijing regime, he said, is "for the first time in modern history, developing a capability to project air and naval forces" beyond its coastal areas."

The United States, Akaka said, "needs to seek ways to address any threat to American interests as a result of that capability not only through pursuing our own military modernization program but also through a strategic dialogue with China which reassures China that we have a shared desire in regional stability."

Since the early 1990s, Akaka said, China has ranked "among the top 10 leading arms buyers among developing nations."

According to the report, Akaka said, the catalyst for the PLA's modernization was China's view that "its top security problem was preventing Taiwan's p…

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On September 16, two MiG-21 fighters of the Indian Air Force were lost in mid-air collision as reported by Press Trust of India (PTI).
Initial reports indicate that one pilot in one of fighters was lost, second one safely ejected. Nothing was reported about the crew of another jet. As a reminder, from 1991 Indian Air Force lost around 200 jets.

Another accident took place 3 days earlier. A MiG-21 jet crashed in Radzhastan state in North-Western part of the country. The aircraft crashed near the Dhinagasary village destroying 18 houses and killing one 18-year old woman and injuring another two. Pilot died at once.
Experts say that high rate of crashes is the result of poor maintenance and training provided to personel.

The MiG-29 fighter jets were recently admitted to fit best the criteria of Bulgarian requirement for a limited number of modern jets for its airforce. According to exclusive report prepared by Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, it’s highly not recommended to accept F-16 in service. Bulgaria doesn’t have any airfields, landing runways or infrastructure to support American jets. The MiG-29 fits criteria remarkably better, however a certain amount of modernization of communication systems would still be required. Already this year, Bulgaria will have 8 new MiG-29 fighter jets in its possession, as reported by RIA Novosti.
This way, Bulgaria became the first nation to wish to enter NATO alliance, but not refusing Russian arms at the same time. This week, a very important and promising meeting took place in the country. Sophia welcomed senior general of USA defense forces Henry Shelton. “We consider Bulgaria as the most friendly candidate to become a NATO member in Balkan region”, - mentioned general Shelton. It’s not known however whether he knew about Bulgarian plans for MiGs while making this statement.
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