MiG heavily damaged when it overshoots Eden Prairie runway

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: July 12, 2012 - 8:47 PM

The pilot had minor injuries in the accident at Flying Cloud Airport as a drag chute failed to deploy properly while the Soviet MiG-21 was landing.

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The crashed Russian MiG is photographed and inspected by authorities along Flying Cloud Road near Pioneer TrailThursday, July 12, 2012, in Eden Prairie, MN.

Photo: David Joles, Star Tribune

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A vintage Soviet fighter jet was heavily damaged Thursday after overshooting a runway in Eden Prairie while arriving for an annual air show.

The pilot, who wasn't identified, was landing the 1975 model MiG-21 at 10 a.m. at Flying Cloud Airport for this weekend's Wings of the North AirExpo, where it was scheduled to be on display.

Officials said the jet's drag chute, which helps slow the aircraft, didn't deploy properly and detached, causing the MiG to overshoot the runway. The nose of the plane came to a rest in a roadside ditch on Flying Cloud Drive near the intersection of Pioneer Trail.

The pilot, the only person aboard the jet, had minor injuries and was treated at the scene. But the plane was crumpled.

"I don't think it will be usable ever" again, police spokeswoman Katie Beal said after speaking with a mechanic at the scene.

The accident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, which will release an official cause.

The plane was scheduled to be a standing feature, not a flying one, at the show Saturday and Sunday, a spokeswoman said. The accident was the first show-related incident in the AirExpo's 13 years.

Kelly Smith • 612-673-4141; Twitter: @kellystrib