Sanctions lead to numerous incidents and crashes of planes in Russia - media

It is reported by The Moscow Times.

In 2022, more than 130 incidents occurred in Russia, including 28 plane crashes, which caused concern among experts in this field.

The main reason for the massive incidents may be the lack of proper maintenance of the boards due to the shortage of spare parts in the country, as aircraft manufacturing companies have left the Russian market.

Thus, on January 5, a Utair passenger flight was forced to land in Western Siberia due to a malfunction of the air conditioner.

Also on January 6, an Azur Air international flight to Thailand with 263 people on board returned to Novosibirsk six hours after takeoff due to damage to the windshield.

Later that day, a domestic Red Wings flight to Yekaterinburg returned to Kazan after takeoff because the landing gear could not be raised.

It is noted that in Perm, on January 8, a Pobeda airliner slid off the runway into the snow, which is why the pilots interrupted the flight to Moscow. The Perm airport reported that the passengers remained unharmed and the plane was not damaged.

It is also reported that two people died and four others were injured when an An-2 passenger plane crashed in the Russian Far East in freezing weather.

Another transport aircraft, IrAero An-26, had its cargo compartment door partially open during a flight in the Russian Far East.

Also, according to the specialized telegram channel Aviatorshchina, since the beginning of the year, eight incidents have already occurred with Russian airlines due to abnormal operation of the landing gear. Six of them - over the past three days (from 6 to 8 of January).

Three incidents occurred with Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) aircraft of Russia Airlines (two) and Red Wings (one). The other five involved foreign aircraft: three Boeing 737s of Pobeda, Utair and Alrosa, and two Airbus A320s of Ural airlines and S7 airlines.

• Very tough sanctions were imposed against the aviation industry in Russia in 2022: most of the world's countries closed the skies for them, and lessors, mainly from Ireland and Bermuda, demanded to return all aircraft to their owners. Also, these aircraft were deprived of flight safety certificates. Russia is trying to circumvent the restrictions and actually begin pirate hijacking. They are also hastily re-registering them in their registry. However, this does not eliminate the impact of sanctions. So, at the moment, Russian airlines can fly only within the country and to several "friendly" countries, and only as long as the aircrafts are in good technical condition, as foreign companies will not supply them with repairs or spare parts. Leading aircraft manufacturers also joined the sanctions.
• On September 14, ICAO gave Russia a "red flag", which indicates serious problems in the field of civil aviation safety.
• On October 1, Russia was not re-elected as a member of the governing council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at the UN, and on October 4 it was finally thrown out of the governing bodies of this most authoritative structure in the industry.
• At the end of 2022, incidents with passenger aircraft became more frequent in Russia.