Fatal Su-27K crash reduces Navy's fleet further(198 words)

Published: 7/17/2001

It appears that Russia is having a bad run of aviation crashes with the announcement of the loss of another aircraft, this time a Su-27K (Su-33) during a landing at a display in the Pskov region to commemorate Marine Aviation Day. The pilot of the aircraft Major General Timur Alakidze, Deputy Commander of Naval Aviation and a Hero of Russia survived the crash, but according to reports died later en route to hospital. An investigation is underway and according to local sources, given the experience of the pilot who had over 3000 hours of flying experience; it seems unlikely that pilot error was the cause. He was also the first naval pilot to land the Su-27K (Su-33) on the deck of the aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet Kuznetsov in 1991. bThe crash will further reduce the Navy's fleet of Su-27Ks originally reported to be between 16-20 aircraft, but diminished according to reports, by a number of accidents. The aircraft although accepted into Naval Aviation in August 1998, was reported to have achieved full time deployment only in early 2000 on Admiral of the Fleet Kuznetsov in the Northern Fleet where it had conducted its trials in the mid nineties.

Article ID: 2652