in Russia in 2023, the number of aviation incidents doubled

In Russia in 2023, the number of aviation incidents increased significantly. The Wall Street Journal writes about this, referring to research companies that study open data. The publication links a significant part of aviation incidents in Russia with the effect of sanctions imposed against the aviation industry after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to the data of the German research company Jacdec, which The Wall Street Journal refers to, at least 74 incidents occurred in Russia in 2023 with planes designed to carry at least 19 passengers. At the same time, there were only 36 such incidents in 2022. The data in general is also confirmed by the research company Cirium, according to its calculations, in Russia for every 100 thousand flights in 2023, there were about 10 incidents, while a year earlier – only 5.

At the same time, it was possible to avoid disasters involving large airliners in Russia last year. According to the number of victims, the largest disaster was the crash of a private plane, which killed the founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin and his close associates; the causes of this catastrophe have not been officially established – the investigation is essentially classified.

In addition to the crash of Prigozhin’s plane, the most high-profile air incident was the landing of the Ural Airlines airliner in a field in the Novosibirsk region, in which the hydraulic system failed. No one died during the emergency landing.

Although serious damage or loss of life can be avoided in the vast majority of cases, constant technical problems create a significant risk for passengers and increase pressure on pilots, experts interviewed by the WSJ note.

Sanctions include, in particular, a ban on Western aircraft manufacturers from servicing aircraft of Russian airlines and supplying spare parts for them. Earlier it was reported that a number of Russian airlines have revised their technical regulations and are allowing aircraft to fly with problems with which they were previously not allowed to fly. At the same time, in December of last year, Rosaviatsiya stated that there is “no tendency towards an increase in the number of aviation incidents” in air transport in Russia. At the same time, during the year, various mass media repeatedly reported that such a trend exists. In particular, “Novaya gazeta Evropa” in September, after the accident near Novosibirsk, wrote that from January to August in Russia, more than 120 air accidents involving civilian aircraft took place, which is more than twice the usual number.