New details have emerged about the fire on board the SSJ-100 of the Azimuth airline, which made a hard landing in Antalya. According to updated data, 89 passengers and 6 crew members were evacuated, and there were no casualties. The Investigative Committee has already opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of safety rules for the movement and operation of air transport"). Rosaviatsiya is also studying the circumstances of the incident.
What the airline "Azimuth" says
The airline claims that the cause of the hard landing in Antalya was the weather: an orange level of danger was declared in the region due to the storm. The press service of the carrier does not comment on the possible causes of the fire.
On November 24, 2024, during the landing of an Azimuth airline aircraft operating flight A45051 Sochi – Antalya, a rough landing occurred as a result of wind shear. The commander decided to evacuate via inflatable slides. Passengers were safely taken to the airport terminal. There were no casualties. Currently, Azimuth Airlines is preparing a backup aircraft to send the return flight A45052.
Passengers of A45051 were provided with food, and those who were supposed to fly on the damaged "Superjet" on the return flight A45052 were temporarily accommodated in a hotel by the air carrier.
What passengers say
Passengers of flight A45051 have already stated that they have filed a collective lawsuit against Azimuth in court. They told Izvestia that the plane caught fire literally within a minute after a sharp landing and impact. According to them, there was a strong impact upon landing, fuel began to leak onto the runway, and fire broke out almost immediately.
People also complained to journalists about violations of evacuation rules: according to them, there was panic and a crush in the cabin, and children were not the first to be released from the plane.
What could have caused the fire
It is known that the fire occurred on the French SaM-146 engine. After the tightening of anti-Russian sanctions, Rostec engineers are actively working on import independence in the maintenance of these engines. In particular, ODK-Saturn produces domestic spark plugs for them and an alternative Russian design of fuel filters. The technology of flushing import-substituted fuel filters and modular repair of the electronic engine control unit according to federal aviation regulations have also been mastered. The modular repair scheme was developed together with ODK-Saturn by specialists from ODK-STAR and Aeroflot. It is not yet known whether the burning engine contained import-substituted elements.
In addition to the engine, Superjets have another weak spot: the chassis system. The largest accident associated with the breakdown of this part of the aircraft occurred in May 2019 in Sheremetyevo. The SSJ-100 took off from Moscow to Murmansk, but almost immediately after takeoff it was struck by lightning and the crew requested an emergency landing.
During the hard landing of the aircraft on the runway, according to the IAC, the chassis system did not work properly, and the crew lost control of the engines. The main landing gear struts collapsed, pierced the fuel tanks, fuel spilled from the tanks and a fire started. The SSJ-100 burned to the ground, and 41 people died out of 78 passengers and crew members on board.
It is worth noting that the day before, on November 24, another Azimuth Superjet made an emergency landing in Antalya at the Krasnoyarsk airport. According to local media, it had landing gear malfunctions, but the air carrier has not yet confirmed or denied this information.
Another version of the cause of the fire was voiced to Izvestia by Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, aviation expert Viktor Zabolotsky. According to him, a rough landing in Antalya could have led to the destruction of the tank or fuel lines.
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