SAINT PETERSBURG: The Embraer executive jet model that crashed in Russia, obviously with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin onboard, has recorded only one accident in over 20 years of service, and that also was not related to a mechanical failure.
Russian authorities along with Prigozhin were listed as passengers on the private jet that crashed Wednesday evening, killing all those onboard. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, the plane was a Brazilian Embraer jet.
Embraer said it was aware of the Legacy 600 plane crash in Russia, but had no further information on the case and had not provided support services for the jet as of 2019.
“Embraer has complied with the international sanctions imposed on Russia,” the aircraft maker said. The sanctions block Western aircraft manufacturers from providing parts or support for aircraft operated in Russia.
Online tracker Flightradar24 showed that the Embraer Legacy 600 (aircraft number RA-02795), which was said to be carrying Prigozhin, dropped off radar at 18:11. local time (1511 GMT). An unverified video on social media showed an aircraft resembling a private jet falling from the sky to Earth.
The Legacy 600 entered service in 2002, according to International Aviation HQ, with nearly 300 built until production ends in 2020.
According to International Aviation HQ, there is only one recorded accident of a Legacy 600, which occurred in 2006 when it collided mid-air with a Boeing Gol 737-800 en route from the Embraer factory in Brazil to US.
Despite the damage to the aircraft, the pilot of the Embraer landed and there were no fatalities or injuries. A Boeing commercial airliner was shot down, killing all 154 passengers.
Two years later, a Brazilian Air Force report blamed the mid-air collision on two American pilots, air traffic controllers and faulty communications.
At the time, the pilots’ lawyer said the accident was caused by individual air traffic controllers and deficiencies in Brazil’s air traffic control system.
