• 11/25/2024

Prologue Journal

Understanding current events through the lenses of the past and future.

Ukraine

Aircraft catches fire during takeoff in Russia

Pravda Ukraine

A Tu-204 cargo aircraft has caught fire during takeoff from the city of Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, Russia.

Source: Russian Telegram channels; Aleksei Tsydenov, Head of the Republic of Buryatia, on Telegram 

Quote from Tsydenov: “The engine caught fire during the takeoff of a Tu-204 cargo aircraft at Baikal airport. The plane landed. There were no casualties.”

Details: Telegram channels have posted videos of the burning aircraft.

The Baza Telegram channel said the plane was supposed to make a flight from Ulan-Ude to Zhangzhou, China. However, the Tu-204’s left engine caught fire a few minutes after takeoff.

The pilots reported to the airport, dumped their fuel, and began landing.

All airport services were put on alert, but the aircraft landed successfully.

Background:

  • The number of emergency situations with aircraft, including civilian ones, has increased in Russia since it invaded Ukraine and the implementation of international sanctions against the Russian Federation.
  • On 1 December, an Aeroflot Boeing-777 flying from Moscow made an emergency landing in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
  • The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) gave the Russian Federation a “red flag” rating for flight safety. There are only four nations with a “red flag” in the world: Bhutan, Congo, Liberia, and Russia. Such an evaluation points to significant declines in Russian aviation safety.
  • Foreign aircraft account for about 70% of the Russian Federation’s civilian fleet, which handles 95% of all air traffic. The Russian air fleet has decreased from approximately 900 aircraft in early 2022 to less than 800 aircraft in just one year. The industry will decline with the departure of Western aircraft. Russia has only 150 passenger aircraft of their own production, but there are numerous issues with these.
  • Airlines face a choice: disassemble aircraft into parts or use non-original parts, risking safety. Lack of insurance and problems with spare parts complicate the operation of aircraft.
  • The situation turned out to be so acute that the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transport approved every asset for repairing foreign aircraft, including the use of third-party parts. At least 50 aircraft, or 25% of the total fleet of the biggest airline Aeroflot, are grounded due to a shortage of spare parts.

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/7/7432002/