The plane was was hit by direct anti-aircraft gun fire or portable SAM over Benghazi during a combat sortie. The pilot was safe after the crash. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
A Libyan airforce MiG 21 crashed into open ground near Benina airbase this morning. The pilot, however, managed to eject and was unhurt. Claims that the fighter plane was shot down by Ansar Al-Sharia are untrue, the Libyan National Army (LNA) says. According to Dignity’s operations room spokesman, Nasser Hassi, the plane had been involved in a raid against Ansar positions in Sidi Faraj near Bouatni but it had not been fired at from the ground. However, he claimed, the hydraulic system caught fire which then which then caused a rocket to explode.
The pilot was then ordered to fly the aircraft to Sidi Mansour near Benina. This he did, parachuting to safety and allowing the MiG to crash away from residential industrial areas.
News & Image Sources: Internet & aviation-safety.net