A civilian Superjet crashed near Kolomna, the entire crew – three people – died. They deliberately flew the plane into the forest, away from villages. According to preliminary data, the cause of the disaster was the failure of foreign engines.
What is known about the plane crash
On July 12, 2024, at 14:59 Moscow time, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed. Five witnesses reported this to the Ministry of Emergency Situations by phone. The airliner flew out from the airfield at 14:52 and crashed to the ground seven minutes after takeoff. The crew last contacted each other at 14:58. First, it climbed to 1,600 meters, and then began to descend; the pilots no longer responded to the dispatcher's requests: they were guiding the plane away from houses; a minute later, it disappeared from radar.
Airplane collapsed into a forested area in the Kolomna region near the village of Apraksino. According to local residents, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 circled in the sky for some time, as if it was running out of fuel, and then began to lose altitude, and the pilots steered the distressed airliner away from residential buildings toward the forest. The plane disappeared behind the trees, an explosion was heard, and the sky rose thick column of smoke. Rescuers, firefighters and ambulances immediately rushed to the scene of the disaster.
The tail number of the crashed Sukhoi Superjet 100NEW-95 airliner is G3P9608; the plane belonged to Gazpromavia.
The plane took off from the airfield in Lukhovitsy, where the Voronin aircraft plant is located. Since May 25, the airliner had been undergoing maintenance, and today it was supposed to proceed to Vnukovo Airport.
Preliminary media reportedthat another plane crashed – a Sukhoi Superjet 100 that took off from Zhukovsky airfield, but this turned out to be a mistake.
The crashed Superjet was manufactured in Komsomolsk-on-Amur at the Gagarin aircraft plant. It made its first flight on December 16, 2014 and had been in service since March 2015 with one company, Gazpromavia.
The Investigative Committee has already excited criminal case. The investigation will be conducted by the Interstate Aviation Committee with the participation of Rosaviatsia. The preliminary version was engine failure.
All three crew members died. According to the SHOT Telegram channel, this is the 53-year-old captain of the ship Evgeniy Bulavko44-year-old co-pilot Maxim Lukmanov and the flight attendant Vladislav Kharlamov. Journalists already found outthat commander Bulavko is a resident of Mytishchi, married, and graduated from the University of Civil Aviation in St. Petersburg. He began his career at Gazpromavia, then quit, worked for Nordstar Airlines, and later returned.
The captain of the aircraft, 53-year-old Evgeny Bulavko (left) and 44-year-old second pilot Maxim LukmanovWhat is known about the Superjet 100
The Superjet 100 made its first flight on May 19, 2008. The SSJ 100 is a short-haul passenger aircraft, i.e. one that flies a distance of no more than three thousand kilometers. It was developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft with the participation of Alenia Aeronautica and with consultations from Boeing. Previously, approximately 22% of the aircraft's components were manufactured in the United States. It is designed to carry up to one hundred passengers.
The main problem with the Superjet 100 is the high proportion of imported components and parts, including the engine. The aircraft is equipped with SaM146, which was manufactured at the UEC-Saturn enterprise under an equal partnership with the French company Safran Aircraft Engines. SaM146 is an integrated power plant, which includes a turbofan engine and a nacelle with a reverser.
After foreign partners refused to cooperate, the issue of ensuring the airworthiness of these power plants became acute. Previously, the main parts of this engine had their resources extended, and the Rostec corporation launched work on import substitution of necessary components, in particular spark plugs, on which the country's transport safety directly depended. On November 23, 2023, Rosaviatsia issued an additional type certificate for the SaM146 aircraft engine with domestically produced spark plugs. The application for the document was submitted by the Rybinsk enterprise UEC-Saturn. The Ufa Aggregate Production Association has mastered the production of spark plugs.
Previously an Honored Pilot of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) and a member of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) on Aviation Development Yuriy Sytnik saidthat the Superjet is unprofitable for companies because they do not receive after-sales service. “This is a screwdriver-assembled aircraft, 60% of which consists of foreign-made parts. It is not provided with spare parts, and it is not serviced, as Boeing and Airbus do, for example,” Sytnyk said.
Currently, the Superjet is equipped with domestic PD-8 engines. By a strange coincidence, exactly the same aircraft with Russian engines was being tested today. It flew next to the Gazpromavia Superjet and landed safely. This is what caused the initial confusion.
