A Su-27 fighter jet has crashed near Moscow. The pilot has died in the crash, guiding the aircraft away from residential buildings.
The fighter jet was piloted by Major Sergei Yeremenko, according to TASS. The first-class military pilot graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute in 2003. During his service, he flew the Yak-52, L-39, MiG-29 and Su-27 aircrafts, and spent more than 800 hours piloting the aircraft.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed reports on Thursday that a Su-27 fighter aircraft had crashed in the Moscow region.
“On June 9 at 10:25 [local time, 07:35 GMT], a Su-27 belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed in the Moscow region while returning to the base airfield after a planned flight. The pilot died. The flight was conducted without ammunition, there is no destruction on the ground.”
Russia’s Aerospace Forces have suspended Su-27 flights after a fatal crash.
“Su-27 flights have been suspended at the decision of the commander until the reasons behind the crash in Moscow region are determined. According to preliminary data, the crash was caused by technical failure.”
The Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker was intended as a direct competitor for the large United States fourth-generation fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations.
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The plural of aircraft is aircraft.