Russian investigators have released a preliminary report into the fatal crash of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 (registration RA-89049) belonging to Gazpromavia on July 12, 2024.
The aircraft, which was operating a ferry flight between Tretyakovo Airport (ICAO: UUMT), where it had been undergoing maintenance, and Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), crashed in a forested area in the Kolomensky district near the Russian capital, causing the death of the three crew members onboard.
In an 88-page report, Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committe (“MAK” by its acronym in Russian) attributes the crash to a failure in an angle of attack (AOA) sensor.
According to the report, the recorded values of the angles of attack changed abruptly during takeoff when the aircraft reached a speed of 60 knots at a pitch angle of 0 degrees.
When the aircraft was already up in the air, the faulty sensor continued to feed inflated angle of attack values to the aircraft systems and subsequently forced the aircraft on a nose-down descent that the pilots could not override.
In May 2024, another Gazpromavia Superjet 100 experienced similar problems shortly after having undergone the same maintenance procedures at Tretyakovo Airport, where two of the four angle of attack sensors had been replaced. However, the pilots managed to retake control of the aircraft and land it safely.
The Interstate Aviation Committe has stated it is working on a service bulletin to address the issue and prevent further occurrences.