A Russian twin-seat Su-30SM Flanker aircraft crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Sunday, the region’s governor said.
Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the fighter jet crashed into a two-story house in the city, two pilots were killed.
The press service of the main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Irkutsk region stated that a Su-30 aircraft crashed during a test flight. “The plane crashed within the city, in the sector of private houses. Fire and rescue units are working on the spot, the information is being specified,” the report says.
Videos of Sunday’s incident, shared on social media, showed the plane dived almost vertically before crashing in a fireball, sending dense black smoke into the sky.
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Russia’s state Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal investigation into violations of air safety rules.
It was the second such incident in six days. Last Monday, a Sukhoi Su-34 combat aircraft crashed into an apartment block in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, and at least 15 people were killed.
According to some reports, like one from TASS, the Su-30SM is a super-maneuverable, all-weather, generation 4++ two-seat fighter derived from the successful Indian Su-30MKI and Malaysian Su-30MKM, which began delivery to Russian forces in 2013.