Russia: Bombers Grounded After Crash

 

By C. J. Chivers

 

The air force grounded its fleet of hundreds of Su-24 attack planes after one of the jets crashed during a training flight in Russia’s Far East. The pilots ejected safely and the cause of the crash was not clear, according to comments by Col. Aleksandr Drobyshevksy reported by Interfax. The Su-24 is a Soviet-era twin-engine jet that was first manufactured in the 1970s and saw action in the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya. The crash occurred during a week in which President Vladimir V. Putin spoke of the need to modernize Russia’s civilian and military aviation sectors.

From RIA Novosti

 

Russian Air Force chief says technical failure caused Su-24 crash

14:41 | 23/ 08/ 2007

 

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow Region), August 23 (RIA Novosti) - A power supply failure most likely caused the crash of a Su-24 strike aircraft in Russia's Far East early Thursday, the Russian Air Force commander said.

 

A Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber crashed Thursday about 115 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of the Khurba airfield in the Khabarovsk Territory, but both pilots successfully ejected from the aircraft. In recent years, Russia has been gradually phasing out the Su-24, which has a patchy safety record.

 

"The aircraft was returning to the airfield after a training mission when a failure in its power supply system occurred," Colonel General Alexander Zelin said, referring to preliminary reports.

 

Zelin said the final conclusion about the causes of the crash would be made following pilot accounts and reports of a special investigative commission, which has been dispatched to the crash site.

 

An Air Force spokesman earlier said two pilots of the Su-24 had been hospitalized in satisfactory condition.

 

The commander of the Russian Air Force has ordered the suspension of Su-24 flights until the causes of the August 24 crash are established.

 

The Su-24 is a two-seater, twin-engine strike aircraft similar to NATO's Tornado and Mirage 2000 planes. It has been in service with the Russian Air Force since the mid-1970s and is currently being replaced with advanced Su-34 Fullback tactical bombers.

 

Last year, flights of Su-24s were suspended twice following three crashes in various regions of Russia. Two pilots were killed in the latest crash in western Russia, in July 2006.