IAC named the cause of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane crash in Sheremetyevo in 2019

The cause of the crash with the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) aircraft at Sheremetyevo in May 2019 was the actions of the aircraft commander (FAC) during landing, according to a report by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC).

"The cause of the aircraft accident was uncoordinated control actions of the FAC at the stage of alignment during landing and during repeated separation of the aircraft from the runway," the document says.

According to the report, these actions led to three hard landings of the aircraft. As a result of the last one, the fuel tanks in the wings collapsed, which caused a fuel spill and, as a result, a fire.

The document also emphasizes that the insufficient effectiveness of pilot training programs for the SJ-100 aircraft in difficult situations contributed to the disaster.

As for the death of 41 passengers, medical experts have determined that the cause was burns from an open fire.

The tragedy occurred in 2019. The SSJ-100 took off from Moscow to Murmansk, but returned to the departure airport 28 minutes after takeoff due to technical problems. The plane was struck by lightning, which caused radio contact to be lost. The ship made a hard landing and caught fire after hitting the ground. There were 73 passengers and five crew members on board, 41 people died due to the fire.

In June 2023, the court sentenced Denis Evdokimov, the pilot of the plane, to six years in a penal colony, banned him from holding the relevant position for three years and recovered 3 million rubles in favor of the victims. The victims and relatives of those killed in the crash expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, disagreeing with the fact that the reason for the incident lies precisely in the actions of the pilot.