Janice R. Andrews
MOSCOW (AP) — Three members of the crew of a Russian passenger jet, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, perished in a terrible incident that occurred on Friday near Moscow. Officials confirmed that there were no passengers on board at the time.
Operated by the state-owned natural gas firm Gazprom’s airline, Gazprom Avia, the doomed aircraft took off from an aircraft manufacturing facility in Lukhovitsy, 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of Moscow. It had just been repaired and was headed to the Vnukovo airport in Moscow when it tragically crashed.
Russian emergency officials swiftly responded to the crash site, initiating a thorough investigation. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s premier criminal investigation agency, has launched a probe to determine the cause of the crash.
Among the notable cases is the May 2012 catastrophe in Indonesia that claimed the lives of all 45 people on board a Sukhoi Superjet 100 during a demonstration flight when it collided with a dormant volcano. Investigations showed that when flying in thick clouds, the crew disregarded terrain warning signals. A Superjet disaster at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in May 2019 claimed 41 lives, marking another sad occurrence. After being struck by lightning, the plane quickly made an emergency landing with unburned gasoline, which started a fire.
Russian carriers have been reluctant to buy the SSJ100 because of its numerous problems and expensive maintenance costs. Russia’s attempts to sell the Superjet abroad have mostly been unsuccessful, since many foreign operators are gradually discontinuing the aircraft.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 has already seen a number of setbacks, and this latest crash raises more concerns about the aircraft’s safety and dependability in the aviation sector. More information is anticipated to surface when authorities carry out their investigation into the collision, which is still underway.
