2022 Yeysk Su-34 crash

On the evening of 17 October 2022, a Su-34 military aircraft crashed into an apartment building in Yeysk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

A large fireball was visible upon impact, causing a fire in the nine-story building, killing 15 people.

Background

The disaster occurred against the backdrop of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sukhoi Su-34 aircraft had been used extensively by Russia during the war. At the same time, journalists noted that the city of Yeysk is located close to Ukraine: 60 km from Mariupol, and 200 km to Bakhmut. However, there was no information in open sources about the use of bombers from the air base in Yeysk.

At the same time, the 859th Center for Combat Use and Retraining of the Flight Personnel of the Naval Aviation of the Navy is located in Yeysk. However, journalists noted that the Su-34 is not in service with the Russian Navy and that it was not previously reported in open sources that it was used to train pilots of naval aviation. But journalists noted that the training complex in Yeysk was also used to train other military pilots.

Accident

The Russian Ministry of Defence reported that the Su-34 fighter-bomber crashed while climbing to perform a training flight. The pilots ejected. They reported that the cause of the crash was the ignition of one of the engines during takeoff. The ministry said fuel caught fire at the crash site.

Information about the crash of the Su-34 aircraft into a multi-storey residential building was received by the Ministry of Emergency Situations at 18:25; the incident occurred on the intersection of Krasnaya (Red) Street and Kommunisticheskaya (Communist) Street.