Page 93 - AirForces - Monthly (February 2020)

Sa’dah governorate, Yemen, close down in Hama governorate,
to the border with Saudi Arabia’s western-central Syria. It carried
Najran region. Houthi rebels a number of small bombs under
claimed to have shot it down. the wings, although none of them
exploded when it came down.
D: Dec 11
N/U: Russian Aerospace D: Dec 25
Forces/55th Independent N/U: Islamic Republic of Iran
Helicopter Regiment Air Force/22nd Tactical
(55 OVP) Fighter Squadron
T: Mi-28UB T: MiG-29
S: ‘17 Red’ Above: Russian Aerospace Forces Mi-28UB ‘17 Red’ lies inverted after its crash on S: 3-6103
Both crew members were killed December 11 near Korenovsk. This aircraft crashed in a remote,
and their helicopter destroyed Center to categorise the incident This was the first series-production mountainous area in the northwest
when it crashed near the as a Class A mishap, indicating in Su-57 and was carrying out one of the country, near the border
Russian village of Platnirovskaya, excess of US$2.5m of damage. of its initial flights. It had been with Azerbaijan, at 0900hrs local
approximately 1.5 miles (2.5km) due for handover to the Russian time. It had been involved in a
from the 6974th Aviation Base D: Dec 17 defence ministry by the end of 2019, functional check flight from the
at Korenovsk in the Krasnodar N/U: Russian Aerospace reportedly during that same week, 2nd Tactical Fighter Base (Shahid
region, at around 2300hrs Forces/22nd Guards Heavy for testing at Lipetsk – see First Fakouri Air Base) at Tabriz, having
Moscow time. The accident took Bomber Aviation Division series production Su-57 prepares just completed a major inspection
place during a routine nighttime (22 GvTBAD)/52nd Guards for delivery, January, p20. Although and periodic depot maintenance.
training flight in heavy fog. The Heavy Bomber Aviation unconfirmed, local media – quoting Some reports claimed that the
crew were later identified as Regiment (52 GvTBAP) sources in the defence industry – experienced test pilot, Major
Major Ruslan Kushnirenko and T: Tu-22M3 said a technical failure of the control Mohammad Reza Rahmani,
Lt Col Aleksandr Sklyankin. After taking off for a routine training system had caused the crash. The ejected before the crash, although
flight from its base at Shaykovka aircraft had been flying at an altitude this is unconfirmed. An extensive
D: Dec 12 in the Kaluga region of central of 26,500ft (8,000m) when the failure search by air and ground-
N: Unknown Russia, the bomber had an engine occurred, immediately after which based search and rescue teams,
T: Unidentified UAV failure and the crew were forced the aircraft spontaneously entered including three helicopters (among
An image posted on social media to make an emergency landing in a rapidly descending downward them an Islamic Republic of Iran
showed the burnt-out wreckage a field in the Astrakhan region of spiral. The pilot attempted to Police Aviation Bell 212 and Islamic
of this UAV after it crashed in southern Russia. The aircraft came use the manual control system Republic of Iran Army Aviation Bell
a field near Burweyn village, in down on restricted-access defence to get the aircraft back to level 214A) and members of the Ardabil
the Hiran region of Somalia. ministry-owned land, part of the flight, but he was unsuccessful Crisis Management Organisation,
Chkalov State Flight Test Centre and, having fallen to a height of immediately got under way to
D: Dec 13 at Akhtubinsk, hitting the ground 6,5000ft (2,000m), he decided to try to locate him, but the search
N: Libyan Government of just over 4 miles (7km) short of eject. This was the first total loss was hampered by severe weather
National Accord the runway there and catching of an Su-57, although one (fifth and snow-covered terrain and he
T: Bayraktar TB2 fire. The four crew members were prototype ‘055 Blue’/T-50-5) was could not immediately be found.
This UAV crashed in Ain Zara, uninjured and able to exit the extensively damaged by an engine Finally, on December 27, Iranian
south of Tripoli, Libya, at around aircraft unaided, following which fire after landing at Zhukovsky mountain rescue teams reached
1700hrs local time. Images show they were transported back to their on June 10, 2014 (see Attrition, the crash site and found the
the wreckage broken up and home base. There was no damage August 2014), but later rebuilt with body of the pilot. Unconfirmed
inverted on a dirt track alongside to property on the ground but parts from the incomplete sixth reports suggest a technical
a wall. Unconfirmed reports the aircraft, which did not carry prototype (T-50-6) and returned failure of the aircraft’s control
suggest it was shot down by any weapons or ammunition, was to the air on October 16, 2015. system had caused the crash.
the Libyan National Army. reported as substantially damaged.
D: Dec 24 Additional material from:
D: Dec 16 D: Dec 24 N: Unknown Piotr Butowski, Noam Menashe,
N/U: US Navy/VFA-106 N: United Aircraft Corporation/ T: Unidentified UAV Scramble/Dutch Aviation
‘Gladiators’ Russian Aerospace Forces This UAV crashed or was shot Society and Asagiri Yohko. AFM
T: F/A-18F Super Hornet T: Su-57
While this aircraft was undertaking S: ‘01 Blue’ (c/n 51001)
in-flight refuelling from an F/A- During a pre-delivery manufacturer’s
18E of VFA-106 in Warning Area test flight, this aircraft crashed at
72 (W-72) of the Virginia Capes 1114hrs local time in the Taiga forest
Operating Area, off the Virginia area of Khabarovsk territory in
coast, a ‘basket slap’ (ie, the Russia’s Far East, 69 miles (111km)
refuelling basket striking the aircraft) from Komsomolsk-on-Amur/Dzemgi
resulted in foreign object debris Airfield, where the aircraft was built
being ingested into and damaging at the KnAAZ production plant.
both engines of the receiving The pilot, Alexei Gorshkov from the
aircraft. Both aircraft returned safely 485th Voyennoye Predstavitelstwo
to their base at Naval Air Station (485 VP, 485th Military Mission) at
Oceana, Virginia. Subsequent Komsomolsk, ejected safely and
inspection of the damaged aircraft was recovered uninjured about half- Above: The wreckage of a Libyan Government of National Accord Bayraktar TB2
led the Naval Aviation Safety an-hour later by a Mi-8 helicopter. UAV in Ain Zara south of Tripoli, after reportedly being shot down on December 13.
Abbreviations: D: Date N/U: Nationality/Units T: Type S: Serials

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