Sukhoi superjet crashes near Moscow, resulting in all crew members' death

According to preliminary data, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed in the Moscow region during a test flight after repairs were conducted. - The aircraft, which crashed in the Moscow region, was manufactured in 2014, and its only operator was Gazprom, reported aviation services cited by TASS.

The plane "hovered in the air" for over an hour before crashing. According to Rosaviatsiya, only three crew members were on board - two pilots and one navigator. All of them died.

The plane was flying from the aircraft factory near Lukhovitsy to Vnukovo. The crew of the plane were the only victims of the crash. According to TASS, engine problems might have been the cause.

According to BAZA, the Superjet crashed 7 minutes after takeoff. "It was the first flight after two months of maintenance," the report reads. The Gazpromavia Superjet took off from the Lukhovitsy airport at 6:52 AM (Eastern Time). At 6:57 AM, the plane was flying at about 1,500 metres, after which it "began to descend rapidly." At 6:58 AM, the altitude was about 1,300 metres; at 6:59 AM, the plane lost over 600 metres of altitude in seven seconds, and at 6:59:28 AM, its signal disappeared from the radar. The aircraft managed to send an SOS signal.

Security forces are already conducting operations at the PJSC UAC-LAZ maintenance and repair centre, where the Superjet was serviced.

As The Moscow Times noted, this was the third Sukhoi Superjet crash since this type of aircraft began flying in 2008. The first aircraft crashed during a demonstration flight in Indonesia in 2012, hitting a mountain, and the second burned during landing at Sheremetyevo in 2019. According to the ch-aviation service, Russian airlines currently operate about 150 aircraft of this type.