Russian TU-95 planes grounded after fire killed pilot

MOSCOW, June 9 (UPI) -- Russian aircraft noted for probing U.S. and European air defenses were grounded Tuesday following an engine fire.

The engine of a TU-95 "Bear" strategic bomber caught fire during a takeoff at the Ukrainka air base in Russia's Amur region, in the Far East, then rolled off the runway, the Moscow Times reported Tuesday. A Defense Ministry spokesman said one pilot was killed and another was hospitalized.

All 62 of the four-engine, Soviet-era planes in the Russian air fleet were grounded, pending an investigation. The massive, propeller-driven planes are essentially copies of the B-29, a U.S. bomber of the World War II era.

The planes have recently been seen flying near NATO airspace, presumably as tests of NATO capability to detect them. On at least one occasion, a TU-95 approached the coast of Ireland without is transponder functioning, disrupting civilian air traffic and forcing diversions of flights to avoid collisions. Incidents involving interceptions of TU-95s by the Japanese Air Force and Britain's Royal Air Force were also reported.