• Russia’s emergencies ministry reports a Sukhoi Superjet 100-passenger plane crashed near Moscow.
• All three crew members onboard are believed to have died.
• The plane crashed during a test flight following repair work.

Russia’s emergencies ministry has reported that a Russian passenger plane, carrying only crew, crashed near Moscow. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 went down in a forest, and authorities believe all three crew members onboard have been killed. There were no passengers on board at the time of the crash.

Russia’s state-run media reported that the plane crashed during a test flight following repair works. Russia has been developing the Sukhoi Superjet, a regional jet, for some time to replace Western-made aircraft.

Heavily sanctioned over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has struggled to replace its aging aircraft fleet. Russia’s emergencies ministry issued a short statement saying the aircraft crashed in a forested area.

“There were no casualties among the population,” it said.

Russia’s transport prosecutors stated that the plane crashed not far from the town of Kolomna. They added that the aircraft belonged to Gazprom Avia, the airline of the country’s Gazprom energy giant. A criminal investigation into Friday’s incident is now underway.

[embedpost slug=”china-retaliates-against-nato-over-russia-accusations/”]