Russia Loses L-39 Trainer, Su-27 Fighter in Crashes

The Russian military lost two aircraft in crashes on Wednesday- an L-39 light attack aircraft and a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter.

The L-39 trainer crashed at the Dmitrievskaya settlement in the Krasnodar Region on Wednesday morning, killing the pilot. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said that the pilot flew the jet away from the nearest settlement and then activated the ejection system at low altitude. “The altitude was not enough for the ejection system to work properly,” the ministry said.

According to preliminary data gathered by the MoD, the Su-27 fighter crashed in the Black Sea near Feodosya during scheduled flights amid bad weather conditions.

"Around 08.10 pm Moscow time [17:10 GMT] on March 25, a Su-27 fighter flying a scheduled mission over the Black Sea at a distance of about 50 kilometers [31 miles] from the town of Feodosia, disappeared from radar screens. An emergency radio beacon signal was detected in the area," the statement reads.

A rescue team consisting of an AN-26 aircraft and an MI-8 helicopter was sent to rescue the pilot, along with a frigate and several civilian ships.