41 Killed in Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet Crash
Joe Cortez May 06, 2019
Over 40 souls were lost after an engine fire forced an Aeroflot flight back to Moscow shortly after takeoff. Dramatic video taken at the airport shows an aircraft engulfed during landing, forcing survivors to evacuate on forward-exit emergency slides after arrival.
Aeroflot is among the many mourning lives today after a weekend flight ended in tragedy. On May 5, 2019, Aeroflot Flight 1492, operated on a Sukhoi Superjet 100, returned to Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) after an engine fire, claiming 41 lives in the aftermath.
According to data from FlightAware.com, SU1492 took off normally from SVO, climbing to as high as 10,000 feet. But shortly after departure, the pilots looped back towards the airport before returning to SVO. Dramatic video taken at the airport shows the Superjet landing with a trail of smoke and fire coming from an engine. Other videos circulating the Internet show a chaotic scene, including passengers evacuating from forward-exit emergency slides.
Посадка пылающего Sukhoi Superjet 100 в Шереметьево. Пилоты – стальные люди pic.twitter.com/ETlzOHbUKw
— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) May 5, 2019
On their website, the airline has published a full list of passengers, as well as a survivor list. From their data, the youngest person aboard was 11 years old; the oldest was 67. The youngest victim is believed to be 12 years old, while one flight attendant was killed.
In a statement to BBC News, an investigator said the 37 survivors include 33 passengers and four crew members. At least five people were transported to local hospitals for treatment.
Aeroflot has offered support for families who experienced losses or injuries as a result of the emergency. In addition to flying family members to Moscow free of charge, the carrier will pay compensation to those on SU1492. Uninjured passengers will receive around $15,323 (1 million Russian rubles), while the group transported to the hospital will get around $30,647 (2 million Russian rubles). The families of those killed in the accident will get compensation of around $45,971 (3 million Russian rubles).
The cause of the accident remains under investigation. The condition of those taken to local hospitals is currently unknown.
This is a breaking news story and may be updated as more information becomes available. For continued updates, track the story on the FlyerTalk forums.
[Image Source: Shutterstock]
I believe the main issue is not really Aeroflot, but the plane itself. Sukhoi was developed at a cost of over 2.5 Billion Dollars, a lot of which went into unknown directions, as many allude... The plane has many defects and has been plagued by issues. I would definitely not fly on this airplane ever. Aeroflot flying Boeing and Airbus planes - has a pretty decent safety record, from what I know.
The common thread in these accidents is training. Yes the MAX crashes primary cause is a design problem, but one of the major contributing factors to ALL accidents is a lack of emphasis on training. Airlines are going to do as little training as possible to "get by". Training is expensive. If training was a priority we would pay more for tickets. Can't have that. We all want to fly first class for free.
It's been amazing to read some air travel bloggers promote flights on Aeroflot over the years. Do they actually believe that the safety standards in Aeroflot are as stringent as in the United States and other Western nations' air carriers?