A Russian Fencer has crashed shortly after (or during) take-off from airbase near Latakia, in western Syria. Pilot and Nav killed in the accident.
A Russian Air Force Su-24M2, deployed to Syria, has crashed earlier today near Hmeymim air base, near Latakia.
According to the first reports, the aircraft skidded off runway during take-off; based on other reports, the aircraft caught fire shortly after take-off and crashed 1 km east of the village of Shrachir. Anwyay, the crew did not eject from the Fencer and died in the accident.
A technical malfunction could have been the root cause of the accident, that did no cause damage on the ground, the Russian MoD said.
This is the second Su-24 that the Russian Air Force has lost since the beginning of the air campaign over Syria. The first one was the Su-24 that was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 on Nov. 24, 2015 after violating Turkey’s airspace for 17 seconds. Both the crew members managed to eject from the aircraft but whilst the navigator was rescued, the pilot was shot and killed by Syrian rebel ground fire while descending by parachute.
Other Russian jets lost during the air war on ISIS include the Russian Navy MiG-29K and Su-33 that respectively crashed on Nov. 14 and Dec. 5, 2016, while attempting to land aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier at its first combat cruise off Syria.
Image credit: Russian MoD
