Wed, Sep 07, 2005
Pilot Ejected; Reportedly Okay
Russian Navy officials say they have no plans to raise the
wreckage of an Su-33 that slid off the deck of the carrier Admiral
Kuznetsov Monday. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered, but
the aircraft will apparently spend eternity more than 3,000 feet
below the surface of the North Atlantic.
The Su-33 was landing on the carrier during fleet exercises when
it slid off the end of the flight deck, according to Russian news
reports. The man in charge of Russian naval aviation, Lieutenant
General Yury Antipov, is now on board the Admiral Kuznetsov and
will personally lead the investigation, according to Russia's
Interfax news agency.
Initial reports blamed the aircraft's braking system for the
mishap, although one source told Interfax the aircraft was in
perfect working order when it departed the flight deck hours
earlier.
Another source told the Russian
newspaper Kommersant, "During planned flights on September 5th at
16:27, [the] Su-33, piloted by Sub Colonel Yuri Korneev was landing
on the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov. The aircraft was not armed.
The jet hooked up [to the arresting cable] but [the] cable broke.
The jet kept running on the deck. When the Su-33 was already
falling off the deck, the flight controller on the aircraft carrier
gave the pilot the command to [eject]. The plane fell in the water
and sunk in the depth of about 1,000 meters. Korneev landed on the
water with a parachute and opened the raft from his rescue pack.
The training flights were stopped on the Admiral Kuznetsov. The
rescue helicopter Ka-27PS took off from the deck of the aircraft
carrier and brought the pilot onboard. The pilot was in a normal
condition."
Russian naval officials said they were able to recover the
plane's flight recorders, which floated to the surface after the
mishap.
Kommersant quoted another source who pondered a much different
problem: what to do with the wreckage.
"The Su-33 equipped with special devices that are considered
state secrets, including recognition system," the source said.
"According to [a] preliminary decision after finding the exact
location of the Su-33, it will be bombed with depth charges. After
that, deep submersible vehicle Tiger will go down and determine if
the aircraft was damaged enough."
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