The Su-34 front-line bomber that crashed next to the nine-story building in Yeysk was performing a training flight, there were no bombs or missiles on board, and when it fell, shells began to explode. Retired aviation colonel Viktor Alksnis spoke about this in a conversation with The Insider.
“This Su-34 was performing a training flight according to the combat training plan, it had no other goals. There were no weapons, I mean bombs and rockets, on board. In aviation, for many decades, since wartime, it has been accepted that in order to increase the combat readiness of aviation systems, the gun in the aircraft is always loaded. I emphasize gun. You can hang aerial bombs and rockets quickly enough, but it takes time to charge the gun. Therefore, always after a combat flight, rockets and bombs (if used) are removed from the aircraft, and the gun is never discharged, it is always in a charged state. This is determined by the documents on the organization of flight work, as it should be. Therefore, there is nothing surprising, requiring an urgent investigation and criminal prosecution, that these shells began to burst when the plane crashed and the fuel ignited.
There is always an ammo box with steel bands on board the aircraft. Shells were inserted into these tapes, after the plane crashed and exploded, they began to burst. In addition, in a video distributed on the network, the pilot, who is lying on the ground, does not have a NAZ (carried emergency stock) with him, which contains an emergency radio station, weapons, first aid kit, and so on. NAZ is not dressed only if a training flight is being made. Therefore, talk about the fact that the plane flew to the bombing of Ukraine and crashed is a lie, slander, but in fact, illiteracy and incompetence.
If only one engine failed, the pilot had the opportunity to get the plane away from residential areas, and as far as I know, they tried to do this, because the sea was one kilometer away. If two engines fail, then the plane falls like a stone. I do not think that in this case the pilots could have escaped. There was a severe flight accident, which led to the death of civilians. In 1972, in the Kaliningrad region, an An-26 aircraft, also a military aircraft from the Baltic Fleet, fell on a kindergarten, and then 24 children died. This is an accident that can always happen.
Airfields should be removed away from settlements, but, unfortunately, this is very expensive. In addition, there is a constant seizure of airport territories, when in market conditions and attempts to make money on housing construction, airfields are practically surrounded by high-rise buildings, which creates the preconditions for these tragedies and even more serious consequences. It is necessary to prohibit the construction of housing around airfields and move airfields out of the city limits. In Yeysk, as far as I know, the airfield was practically within the city, so we need to draw conclusions.”
A Su-34 military aircraft crashed near a residential building in Yeysk, Krasnodar Territory, on the evening of October 17, the pilots managed to eject. Mash reports that the death toll has risen to 14, among them three children. Another 19 people were injured. Telegram channel "112" reported that the plane was fully loaded. The Ministry of Defense reported that, according to the report of the ejected pilots, the cause of the crash was the ignition of one of the engines during takeoff. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov , told reporters that there was no explosion after the fall of the Su-34, while repeated sounds of explosions were heard on the footage published on the network. According to Kurenkov, the plane hit the house during the fall, collapsed, after which fuel spilled.
“There was no explosion as such, because the adjacent buildings did not even lose their glazing. There was no explosion, there is damage to the house, it is characteristic, everything is clear. But the fire was caused by a fuel spill, and people were injured.”