FILE IMAGE: Su-24
On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 warplane crashed during a takeoff from the Hmeyimim airfield in Syria. The two pilots died as a result of the incident.
“On October 10, when accelerating ahead of takeoff from the Hmeyimim airfield in Syria, the Su-24 aircraft veered off the runway and crashed. The crew of the plane did not eject in time and died,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that a technical malfunction could have caused the crash. The situation is under investigation.
An alleged photo showing the some on the crash site:
Click to see the full-size image
This was the fourth warplane lost by Russia in the conflict.
In 2016, the airwing of Russia’s heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov lost a MiG-29K multirole fighter and a Su-33 air superiority fighter.
The MiG-29K crashed into the Mediterranean while attempting to land on Admiral Kuznetsov after operating over Syria on November 14, 2016. The Su-33 The Su-33 crashed during an attempt to land on Admiral Kuznetsov on December 4, 2016.
In 2015, a Su-24M warplane was downed by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet in the province of Latakia near the Syrian-Turkish border.
