A Russian Superjet has once again experienced engine trouble during flight
The cowlings on the second engine of a Red Wings Sukhoi Superjet 100 broke off during flight. The crew decided to return to the airport in Yekaterinburg, where the plane landed safely. This is the second such incident in the last six months and the fourth overall for this type of aircraft.
Another serious incident involving a Sukhoi Superjet 100 has occurred in Russian civil aviation. During a Red Wings flight, the cowlings of the second engine detached in mid-air, forcing the crew to end the flight early.
According to the Telegram channel “Aviatorshchina,” the incident occurred on the afternoon of June 18. Shortly after takeoff, the pilots noticed a problem with the second engine. The aircraft commander decided not to continue the flight and to return to the airport of departure. After burning off the necessary amount of fuel, the plane landed safely in Yekaterinburg. According to preliminary reports, no one was injured.
This is the second such incident in the last six months and the fourth overall officially recorded involving Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. A similar situation previously occurred with an aircraft operated by Rossiya Airlines. Two other similar incidents were recorded on aircraft operated by Azimut Airlines.
Rosaviatsiya conducted investigations following the previous incidents. In all three cases, experts reached the same conclusion: the cause was that the engine cowling latches were not properly secured after maintenance. During one of the investigations, the commission determined that specialists from Yakovlev PJSC, who performed maintenance on the aircraft in Vladivostok, did not follow the instructions when securing the latches.
Based on the results of the inspections, Rosaviatsiya recommended that the manufacturer equip the Superjet 100 fleet with additional safety features and make changes to the technical documentation. In addition, airlines and maintenance services were advised to strengthen oversight of aircraft maintenance and conduct more thorough preflight inspections. “The cause was the failure to close the cowling latches after maintenance was performed,” the findings of previous investigations stated.
Despite the measures taken, the latest incident involving a Red Wings aircraft indicates that the problem has not been fully resolved. The incident was yet another in a series of technical malfunctions that have been regularly reported on Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft in recent years, according to Russian media reports.
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