Western sanctions haven’t affected Russian aviation safety – Kommersant

Western sanctions have had no notable impact on flight safety in Russian civil aviation, the Kommersant newspaper has reported, citing data from the nation’s air safety watchdog over the past five years.

According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, there are “no clearly defined negative trends” in the number of annually registered incidents.   

Russian civil aviation aircraft reportedly deal with some 800 incidents every year, while the number of incidents related to technical and power failures amounted to 485 in 2019–2022.

In the first 11 months of the current year, 670 aircraft incidents were recorded in commercial aviation, of which 400 were associated with equipment failures, the regulator said. It added that the figure is directly related to the number of completed flights, which is expected to drop in 2022 and 2023 compared to 2021.

The agency’s statistics factor in data from commercial transportation that includes 116 airlines with an air operator’s certificate. Roughly 65% of passengers are carried by the country’s five biggest airlines, including Aeroflot group, S7, and Ural Airlines. Foreign-made aircraft reportedly account for about 95% of passenger turnover.

The number of incidents registered by the agency in 2019 amounted to six, including two related to equipment failures. In 2020-2021, civil aviation witnessed 23 incidents with seven due to equipment failures. There were 15 incidents in 2022, including just one due to equipment failure. In the first 11 months of the current year, eight incidents occurred with one related to equipment failure.

“Violation of engine airworthiness maintenance or flight operation rules are the most common factor leading to engine failures,” the watchdog told the media.

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