Friday, July 12, 2024, 17:44
The three crew members of a Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100 regional transport plane were killed on Friday when it crashed southeast of Moscow during a test flight without passengers after repairs, local news agencies reported. The plane crashed in a wooded area and exploded on contact, emergency services said, as cited by RIA Novosti.
The plane belonged to the gas giant Gazprom, TASS said, and was heading to Vnukovo airport in the capital. The Russian Federal Civil Aviation Agency, Rossaviatsia, announced the opening of a criminal investigation to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
The Sukhoi Superjet-100, launched in 2011, is the first Russian-designed civil aircraft since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but its reputation has been tarnished by several accidents. Its sales abroad are almost non-existent due, among other things, to high maintenance costs and recurring technical problems.
According to Swiss aeronautical intelligence provider Ch-Aviation, the aircraft was equipped with a SaM146 engine, manufactured by a joint Franco-Russian company.
Missing parts
According to some sources, Russian aeronautics companies have had problems importing spare parts for their aircraft since Western sanctions were introduced in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow is developing its own equipment to replace them, but production has not yet begun.
This is the third accident involving a Sukhoi Superjet since its introduction. The first crash occurred during a demonstration flight in Indonesia, killing 45 people. The second crashed on landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, killing 41 people. There are currently about 150 aircraft in operation.
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