Three special Il-96-300PU aircraft failed to land in Moscow immediately

Three Il-96 aircraft of the Special Flight Detachment "Russia" could not land in Moscow on the first attempt on the evening of October 9. Two aircraft eventually landed at Vnukovo, while the third was redirected to St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, according to data from the flight tracking service Flightradar24.

Aircraft RA-96020 and RA-96022 departed from Turkmenbashi at 14:00 and 14:15 and landed at Vnukovo at 18:06 and 18:21 respectively. According to the flight tracking service, they maneuvered over Moscow and the Moscow region before landing.

The third Il-96, RA-96025, departed from Turkmenbashi at 15:52. Instead of Moscow, it first headed to St. Petersburg, where it landed at Pulkovo, and then flew back to the capital.

Recall that the Il-96 of the Special Flight Detachment is used to transport high-ranking officials. The aircraft is equipped with secure communication via military satellites, which allows maintaining control of the country even in flight. The flight range of the Il-96-300PU reaches 14 thousand km without landing.

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