AZERBAIJAN AIR FORCE JET CRASHES IN CASPIAN SEA
by Afet Mekhtieva

Reuters
29 Jan 2008 15:12:34 GMT

BAKU, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A MiG-29 from Azerbaijan’s air force crashed
into the Caspian Sea on Tuesday during a routine training mission,
killing both crew members, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

The military jet went down in the sea near the village of Shurabad
north of Baku, the spokesman said, adding that a recovery operation
was underway to locate the telemetric recording devices on board.

Azerbaijan last year displayed its new generation MiG-29 planes
purchased from fellow ex-Soviet republic Ukraine, never clarifying
how many of the jets are in its air force.

The Central Asian nation has been in low-level armed conflict with
neighbour Armenia since 1988, and any public accounting of its arsenal
remains a government secret.