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The Indian Air Force's (IAF) Director General of Inspection and Safety, Air Marshal TS Randhwa said on Friday that the accident rate of MiG-21 aircraft has reduced in the current year as compared to the previous year. Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of an International Flight Safety seminar here, Air Marshal Randhwa said: "Today, touch wood, our accident rate is better than last year. So, I think we are on an improvement curve at this point and time. I think we should see a better end toward the accident rate in this financial year." Referring to Mig-21 crashes this year Air Marshal Randhwa said: "I must clarify to all of you is that while those accidents happened in a short time frame." In this year, the IAF witnessed three MiG -21 crashes. On June 18, a MiG FL had crashed in Chabua in Assam and another MiG-21 had crashed on May 27 near Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The pilots of both these flights had bailed out to safely. But on September 10 a young pilot was killed when the third MiG flight was crashed near Muktasar in Punjab . Air Marshal Randhwa described the MiG 21 aircrafts as reliable. The media termed the MiG-21 fighter aircraft, as 'Flying Coffins' because of the frequent crashes. The Russian made MiG-21 aircraft has been used by the IAF since 1963. Later under license, these aircraft were manufactured in India , out of which 125 MIG-21's were upgraded after a deal worth 300 million dollars was signed with the Russians in 1996. The IAF plans to replace the MIG-21 with the indigenously built aircraft Tejas, which is being designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) in Bangalore . Tejas is likely to be inducted into the IAF from 2010 onwards.