A Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet crashed southeast of Moscow on Friday during a test flight without passengers. Three crew members are believed to have died, according to Russian news agencies.
“The plane crashed into a forest and exploded upon impact with the ground. According to preliminary information, the crew was killed,” emergency services reported, citing the RIA Novosti agency.
The plane, which was on a test flight, belonged to gas giant Gazprom, the state news agency TASS reported, citing emergency services, and was heading to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.
According to Rosaviatsia, there were no passengers on board, only the crew.
The Investigative Committee, which oversees major investigations in Russia, announced the launch of an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident.
Entering service in 2011, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 was the first civilian aircraft developed in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but its reputation has been tarnished by reliability issues and several crashes.
Its sales abroad are virtually zero, mainly due to high maintenance costs and occasional technical problems.
In May 2019, a burning Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 was forced to make an emergency landing on the runway of a Moscow airport, killing 41 people.
Shortly after the SS-100’s first commercial flights, one of its models crashed into a volcano in Indonesia in 2012, killing 45 people.