A Croatian Air Force MiG-21 fighter jet crashed on Tuesday afternoon in a remote forested area near the northeastern town of Slatina, Croatia's defense ministry said in an unsigned press release.

The accident reportedly happened shortly before 2 pm on Tuesday, during a training exercise. The pilots in the two-seater plane reportedly ejected safely and were later found by search and rescue teams. The ministry reported that they are “in good condition.”

Local media reported that this was the seventh large incident involving military aircraft since 2010, including two incidents in 2020 which killed four officers.

In January 2020 a US-made Kiowa Warrior helicopter crashed into the sea near Zablace in central Dalmatia, killing two Air Force officers. In May 2020 another two officers were killed in the crash of a Zlin 242 L trainer aircraft at Biljane Donje near the coastal city of Zadar.

Going further back, in August 2014, a MiG-21 fighter jet crashed at Donja Lomnica near Velika Gorica in central Croatia, with the pilot successfully ejecting. According to the pilot, the crash was caused by a hydraulic system failure. The plane was used for a flyover above the town of Knin during the large ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1995 Operation Storm.

In June 2012 a MiG-21 was grounded after it lost its canopy in a test flight, and in 2011 the defense ministry’s Air Tractor which was engaged in firefighting efforts crashed on the island of Brac, with the pilot surviving the crash.

Another two MiG-21’s collided during a military exercise near Slunj in September 2010. The commission that investigated the crash said in February 2011 that the collision occurred during a firing exercise due to “a series of unfavorable circumstances,” notably bad weather conditions and the lack of experience of the pilots. Pilots of both planes had safely ejected, and an elderly woman was injured on the ground.