Western sanctions linked to rise in Russian flight safety incidents, says report

Data from the German database, Jacdec, indicates that 74 incidents connected to flight safety were recorded last year in Russia, as opposed to 36 incidents in 2022. The "Wall Street Journal" analysed this data and found that the average frequency of such incidents soared from 4.5 per 100,000 flights to 9.9.

The newspaper suggests that the sanctions imposed on the Russian aviation sector have caused this surge. The sanctions blocked Russian airlines from accessing services, spare parts and software updates provided by Western aircraft manufacturers.

While not all mishaps are directly linked to the sanctions - for instance, the database includes a report of a downed plane affiliated to former Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin - experts quoted by the WSJ pronounce that a considerable portion is due to the restrictions.

These involve engine ignition or other failures during flight, tyre blow-outs during landing, or flap failures, which necessitate flight diversions. One such case happened in September 2023, when an Airbus A320 from Ural Airlines encountered a hydraulic system failure mid-flight. Consequently, the aeroplane had to make an emergency landing in a field in southern Russia, which remains.

"Without access to parts, there isn't much you can accomplish," Henry Gourdji, Director of the industry organisation Flight Safety Foundation, told the newspaper. "The Russians are doing the best they can, but it's beginning to take a serious toll,” he concluded.