Video shows Libyan MiG-21 Fishbed jet crashing into downtown Tobruk

Free Libya Air Force Mig-21 crashed into city blocks at Tobruk, in eastern Libya.

On Sept. 2, a MiG-21 belonging to the Free Libya Air Force crashed into Tobruk killing the pilot and at least a small boy on the ground.

The entire scene was filmed from a rooftop in Tobruk: the aircraft seems to be initially nose-diving, then the pilot pulls up again and the aircraft overflies the cameraman in what seems to be a climb, just before it dives again and crashes between buildings causing a huge explosion.

Needless to say the reasons of the crash are still unknown even if according to some news reports, sources pointed towards the mechanical failure.

According to RT, the pilot has been identified as Rafa Al-Farani and the he crashed in his MiG-21bis while performing in a memorial flypast for another pilot, Ibrahim Al-Manifi, who was also killed in a plane crash few days ago.

This seems to explain the reason why someone was filming the plane from a rooftop at the time of the crash.

About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.