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Hello Mike.
I would like to contribute to your web site with the following story:

Testimony of an Ejection ocurred during air to air combat, between ecuadorean and peruvian fighters during the Cenepa's War of 1995.

Friday, Feb 10, 7 AM, Commander Valladares hasn't gotten any assignment for that day. Because of his rank of Base commander, He ordered to be included in a Combat mission planned over the Cenepa Valley, place, where, ecuadorean and peruvian military forces had been fighting for over a month already, over a territory's dispute that hasn't been solved for decades.

"A young pilot had to leave his place and give it to Me. I wanted to make an example".

That day, my mission was to drop bombs over an strategic point, where ecuadorean troops had establish their Base at Tiwintsa. We flew towards the determined place. At around 1:00 PM when we were near the target, We sppoted two ecuadorean KFIRS fighters, but even when this situation approached, We decided to continue and accomplish the mission, we got to the target and drop our bombs.

The KFIRS detected Us, making a sharp turn and coming directly towards our planes. Everything happen in a matter of seconds. The KFIRS were already chasing Us. I grabbed the controls of my A-37 and try to shake the KFIRS. I had to achieve the minimum altitud in order to enter in between the mountains and avoid to be shot down.

The KFIRS are much more fasters and eventually they reached Us. There was no escape!. I didn't have a choice, other than turn into the KFIRS in a head on collision course with them , in order to minimize my aircraft's profile and make the KFIR's target acquisition harder to obtain.

Suddenly, I saw a missile trail, I tryied to take an evasive action, but my plane got a direct hit. As a result, my plane's rudder was destroyed and also the engines suffered severe damage during the process.

My A-37 entered into an inverted spin, totally out of control. I thought about my Family and tried to regain control of the aircraft, with no avail.

I saw my copilot, Captain Mendiola being thrown out to the air. He had ejected!
I still wanted to save my plane. I really wished to control the plane and return to Piura, city where we were based.

I was watching the ground coming closer and closer as every second passed. Finally, I pulled the ejection handle.

I saw myself, hunging from the parachute, falling slowly towards the jungle. I couldn't see where my airplane had crashed. This was the the first time I had to jump from a plane. I wasn't scared. Instead, I had my mind occupied in how to survive this ordeal !

My first attempt to land was in a river, but the parachute took Me towards the river's banks, draggin Me into bushes, rocks and trees.

When I landed, my back hit some rocks that were on the ground. Anyway, it was a miracle that I was still alive!

Article by Commander Valladares.
Published on september 17 1995 by "La Republica" newspaper. Lima-Peru.

Wilson Garrido

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Extra note from ACIG lists

source - ACIG (Thanks to ACIG and Tom Cooper for allowing me to extract and use data from their web site to use in this project)

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March 13 2001

Lima - A Mig-29 Fulcrum, belonging to the Peruvian Air Force, crashed las tuesday, during an aerial demonstration, when representatives from the peruvian Congress, were making an inspection in order to get the details about the real operational estate of the 18 planes, purchased to Bellarousse. The pilot ejected safely and suffered no injuries.

The accident ocurred in a peruvian air force base located in the city of Chiclayo, 660 Km northeast from Lima, the capital of Peru, where the congressmen went to investigate the origen of fraudulent bank accounts belonging to the former Peru's President's advisor, Vladimiro Montesinos. The congressmen wanted to verified the situation of the Mig-29s that according with some claims made by journalists, were purchased to Bellarousse by the President Alberto Fujimory's Gobernment, and might be inoperative.

More than 10 Mig-29s had flown during the demonstration that day, when the Fulcrum "FAP 031" that was being flown by the peruvian air force officer Ricardo Garcia, failed to gain altitude and crashed over an area nerby its own base.

The peruvian Mig-29 was making an attack manouver when it crashed. "I was surprised, confussed and sad. I don't know what had just happen " commented David Waisman, peruvian congressman, after the crashed.

The congressman, said short after that, the airplane began to fail over a populated area but the pilot was able to fly towards a desolated place and ejected before the collision.

The peruvian air force refused to give inmediate explanation about the crash, but it is pressume that was caused by technical failure.

David Waisman remembered that another Mig-29 crashed on last december. Another peruvian Mig-29 had crashed in Chiclayo in 1997, by then, the peruvian air force denied that it was a Mig-29 and said that the plane involved in that particular crashed was in fact a Mirage.

Minutes before the aerial demonstration, peruvian air force officers talked to the members of the Congress present there, that the peruvian air force had 21 Mig-29s: four were being repaired, one had crashed already due to bad weather and the other 16 planes were operational.

The latest Mig-29 crashed, brought serious doubts about their operational situation in peruvian service.

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Lets, see, now Mirages, I have notice that those are more complete, anyway here what I have:

07/March/1983 Mirage F-1JA
Serial: FAE-810
Circumstance: Engine fire
Place: Near Taura
Unit : Squadron 2112
Base: Taura

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21/Jan/1988 Mirage F-1JB
Serial FAE-832
Circumstance: ??
Place: ??
Unit: Squadron 2112
Base: Taura

I'm not complete sure about the serial but as far as I know that accident involved a two-seater.

The remaining information is basically the same already posted, two other crahsed that involved ejections, 1990 and 1992.

I would look around for further information abouth the other models

regards

Cesar

Lets see, Peru have had 7 Mirage two-saters, 5 Mirage-5 and 2 Mirage2000, currently the two M2000 are in service while I think two M-5DP are stored, so in the +30 years of service 3 M-5DPs must be written offs.

I dont know exactly that because I have just limited references about 1960's and 1970's I'm just looking aroud newspapers and stuff of the 80's to "complete" the incidents....and only then look around 60's/70's.

About the newer ones, there is not Dec/2000 Mig-29 accident, there are two of them, one in March13 2001 (already reported) and one in 02 December 1997 also with a succesfull ejection in the Naylamp Valley, 60km Noreast of Chiclayo, it was due pilot "situation disorientation" in a low level night flight.

I have a 18/May 1988 Mirage5DP reported but no ejections are involved as both pilots (dont know the names) died. I havent notice an accident in June 1988, are you sure is peruvian? has to be mirage?? maybe other plane? is very unlikely something like that happened since is usual that after a crash the operations of that type of planes is suspended for a few weeks until investigations confirm the exact causes of the crash.

Other accident (with ejections) that I remember is a Su-22 in July 22 1999 the pilot ejected after the engine stopped in the place called Quebrada Pariñas, near Talara. Also the January 1985 mid-air collision is with two MB-339s, in the sea near Pisco while practice some aerobatics manouvers, each plane had 1 pilot, both ejected and rescued latter. I remember also an incident with Tucano, 01 March 2001 (or 2002a T-27 crashed near Cañete after an engine fire during flight, both pilots ejected, also there is a known Canberra accident, in the southeast of Brazil while the plane was traveling from Peru to Argentina, the crew faced a storm and got lost finally they went out of fuel and ejected, but one of them died.

I would look aroung for further information. I have a full list of FAE inventory and incidents but I havent have the time to complete a similar document about FAP

regards

Cesar

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