Russian Fighter Jet Crashes Again, Video Shows Massive Fire in Crash Site

A Russian fighter jet that crashed into a Siberian residential building that resulted in the death of the two pilots of the aircraft is the second of such fatal incidents in the last week that involves a Sukhoi plane.

The governor of Irkutsk, Igor Kobsez, said in a post on Telegram that the plane crashed into a two-story house located within the city. The official also published video footage of the aftermath of the incident that showed firefighters clambering over the wreckage of the aircraft and directing jets of water at the still-burning rubble.

Russian Jet Crash

The governor said that fortunately, no one on the ground was hurt due to the airplane crash. Authorities noted that the plane was a Sukhoi Su-30 that was being flown on a test flight. Last Monday, a Sukhoi Su-34 crashed into an apartment block in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, resulting in at least 15 casualties, as per Reuters.

Officials added that the initial investigation of the first incident, where pilots were ejected, pointed to a technical malfunction of the aircraft. Video footage of the recent Sunday crash, which was shared on social media platforms, showed the aircraft dove almost vertically before crashing into a fireball and sending black smoke into the sky.

Kobzev noted that roughly 150 homes nearby were left without electricity and efforts were underway to restore power. In a statement, Russia's state Investigative Committee said that it had launched a criminal investigation into violations of air safety rules.

According to the Associated Press, Kobzev said that officials would provide temporary accommodation and compensation to residents who were affected by the crash. The recent crashes are seen as a growing strain that resulted in the fighting in Ukraine, which has placed pressure on the Russian air force.

Russia-Ukraine War

A state-controlled conglomerate of Russian aircraft-making plants, the United Aircraft Corporation, released a statement saying that the plane involved in Sunday's crash went down during a training flight before its delivery to the air force. The plane was said to have been carrying no weapons.

Irkutsk is a major industrial center of more than 600,000 people located in eastern Siberia and is home to an aircraft factory that produces the Su-30s. The aircraft is a supersonic twin-engine, twin-seat fighter jet that has been considered a key component of the Russian air force. Many countries, including China and India, are also known to use the planes.

The crash on the weekend was also the 11th reported non-combat crash of a Russian warplane since Moscow deployed its troops to invade on Feb. 24. Military experts have weighed in on the situation saying that as the number of Russian military flights increased sharply during the fighting, so did the number of crashes.

The situation comes as 33 missiles were reportedly fired at Ukraine in the latest development in the war between Moscow and Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to take back all Russian-occupied territory.

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization of reservists which was expected to call up to as many as 300,000 additional forces, ABC News reported.

Tags

Crash, Video, Fire