3 May 2018 18:47

Both engines of Su-30 that crashed in Syria may have failed - ex-Russian Air Force deputy commander

MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter that crashed in Syria might have collided not just with one bird but with a flock that disabled both of its engines, Russian State Duma deputy and former Air Force Deputy Commander Col. Gen. Nikolai Antoshkin said.

"It has two engines," Antoshkin told Interfax on Thursday. "If it collided with a flock, this can happen [both engines get disabled], but if only one bird gets [into an engine], the plane can fly with one engine, perform its mission and return," he said.

If both engines of an Su-30 stop at a low altitude, it is impossible to save the plane, Antoshkin said.

"If the engines stop, and if this happens above the sea and if the altitude is low, you can't rescue [the plane], whatever you do," Antoshkin said. "And if he had turned around and tried to glide, it would have fallen onto a populated area in Syria, which is much worse," he said.

It was reported earlier that a Russian Su-30SM fighter had crashed in Syria, killing both of its pilots. The Defense Ministry suggested that the crash could have been caused by a bird flying into one of the plane's engines.