The Russian air force is struggling to return its MiG-29 fighters to operational status and still has not identified a fix to the problem that caused the fleet to be grounded last year. Although the service has resumed MiG-29 Fulcrum nights, around 70% of the fleet remains on the ground as the aircraft undergo close inspection and possibly require maintenance. Russia grounded its MiG-29s in the wake of a Dec. 5, 2008, crash of one of the combat aircraft. The fighter came down shortly after takeoff around 5 km. (3 mi.) from the Domna airfield in southeastern Siberia, killing the pilot. The event followed an October crash of a MiG-29 at the same base, although that pilot managed to eject.
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