January 31, 2008 - 14:19 AMT
Expert: Azerbaijan should stop exploiting soviet defense technology
"The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry should stop exploiting soviet-era defense technology, including MIG-29 jets used for air border defense," said Alekper Mammadov, head of the center of democratic civil control over the armed forces.
On January 28, MIG-29 crashed during a training flight, killing both pilots - Fahreddin Askerov and Afghan Aslanov.
Earlier, MIG-29 jets also crashed in Russia, Malaysia, Peru, Slovakia and Armenia.
"The crash was caused by some technical faults but not incompetence of the pilots. Incidents in some states prove spoilage in production," the expert said adding that the parachute ejector mechanism was apparently out of order.
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry's spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu said that it's incorrect to put forth versions unless the flight recorder is found, Trend reports.