The mig-31 is believed to have come down around 17km from a Russian military airbase.

The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed the plane crashed in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

According to reports, the plane was on a planned training flight from Savasleika air base.

The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

However it is so far being suggested the accident was down to a technical issue.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement: "On September 19, at about 3.30pm Moscow time (12:30pm GMT), a MiG-31 fighter jet of the Aviation Staff Training Center crashed during a planned training flight at one of the military airfields in the Nizhny Novgorod region; both pilots successfully ejected.

"The flight was carried out without ammunition; the plane fell in a deserted place; there is no destruction on the ground.

"According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was a technical malfunction."

The pilots ejected safely and were evacuated by search and rescue.

It fell around 17km from its air base.

Reports also suggest the jet caught fire before it crashed.