"Fell in a deserted area": ​​the Su-25UB attack aircraft crashed in the Stavropol Territory

Aircraft Su-25UB crashed in the Stavropol Territory. This was reported in the Ministry of Defense of Russia. The department said that the search for pilots is underway.

“Currently, search and rescue service specialists are searching for two pilots. The flight was carried out without ammunition. The plane crashed in a deserted area, there is no destruction on the ground, ”the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The incident occurred during a training flight, the department explained. The Su-25UB is a combat training two-seater version of the Russian attack aircraft. According to TASS, citing a source in the power structures of the Stavropol Territory, the flight was conducted from the Budyonnovsk airfield, and the pilots managed to eject.

“The plane crash site was discovered. Helicopter parachutes were not seen. A ground search and rescue squad will be sent to the crash site, ”the source said.

A TASS source claims that the Su-25UB crashed while practicing aerobatics - the so-called “dead loop”.

“The flights were carried out to practice aerobatics. When performing the "dead loop" the pilots did not take the plane out of the dive and collided with the ground. The plane entered the ground to a depth of three meters, ”said the TASS interlocutor.

A similar incident occurred in the Stavropol Territory more than three years ago. On February 29, 2016, the Su-25 of the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed during a training flight. Its pilot, Major Alexander Kurikalov, died during the bailout.

As now, the aircraft without ammunition and crashed in an uninhabited area.

In total, since 2000, according to open sources, nine incidents have occurred, resulting in five deaths. Another 15 Su-24 attack aircraft and 10 pilots were lost as a result of the hostilities.

The last incident occurred on March 30, 2016 - then the Su-25 of the 18th Normandy-Neman assault regiment of the Russian Air Force crashed while landing at the Chernigovka airfield in the Primorsky Territory. The pilot managed to eject, and the plane destroyed a garage, a barn and a cellar of one of the local residents.

Attack aircraft Su-25

Su-25 was developed in the 70s in the USSR in the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The pre-production attack aircraft completed its first flight in 1979. The aircraft under the number T-8-3 was assembled at the Tbilisi Aviation Plant. Already in 1980, during the Afghan campaign, he underwent baptism of fire.

State tests were completed in 1981, however, the Su-25 was adopted only six years later. During the Afghan war, pilots nicknamed him the "Rook." For the entire duration of the campaign, these aircraft made about 60 thousand sorties.

These aircraft have high survivability - during test flights pilots planted cars with damage to the airframe, wing, fuel tanks, landing gear and one of the two engines. They were in service with not only the USSR, but also other countries - Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Angola, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Congo, Iran, Cote d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Peru, Niger, Gambia, Chad, Macedonia.

Also, in addition to Russia, they are in service with the former Soviet republics. In total, about 1.3 thousand of such aircraft were produced. The attack aircraft is now actively used in armed conflicts. So, the Su-25 formed the basis of the contingent of the Russian Air Force in Syria.

During the operation, only one such aircraft was shot down. The accident occurred on February 3, 2018. Managed by Major Roman Filipov, the Su-25 was hit by MANPADS of terrorists. The pilot managed to evacuate, but when he landed, he was forced to confront the militants and died in an unequal battle. Russian President Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia to a major.

“He accepted an unequal battle with the terrorists, did not give up, did not back down, and we have every right to compare it with the heroes defenders of the Brest Fortress, with the defenders of Moscow, Stalingrad, because regardless of the historical context, regardless of the time in which we live, a person’s life, in any case earthly, is only one. And if a person is ready to go to the end, to sacrifice himself in the interests of his people, then this is the highest manifestation of personal courage, heroism, devotion to his homeland, ”Putin said, presenting the award to the Filipov’s parents in the Kremlin.