Russian Plane Malfunctions Tripled in Just One Year as Sanctions Bite

Russian plane malfunctions have tripled in just one year as Western sanctions imposed in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine suffocate the aviation industry.

There have been a vast number of cases in recent months of Russian domestic passenger planes making emergency landings due to technical issues, driven by a lack of spare parts.

Russian-operated planes have been sanctioned by the U.S. government, and aircraft manufacturers have stopped delivering spare parts and new planes to the country.

Data compiled by Newsweek shows that from September 2023 to December 8, 2023, Russia saw a total of 60 commercial aviation incidents that involved emergency landings, engine fires and malfunctions, along with other technical issues forcing the planes to abandon their intended routes.

There were 15 incidents in September; 25 in October; 12 in November; and eight by December 8, Newsweek found.

Earlier, Novaya Gazeta Europe found that from January to August 2023, more than 120 air accidents were recorded in Russia involving civil aircraft used by Russian airlines. This brings the total number of plane malfunctions this year to over 180.

Russian plane malfunctions this year have already tripled compared to 2022, when 61 incidents were recorded. Novaya Gazeta Europe found that between 2018 and 2022, an average of 55 accidents were recorded during the same months.

The independent Russian news outlet assessed that engine issues caused 30 percent of the incidents in 2023, while landing gear was cited in 25 percent. Problems with the brakes, flaps, air conditioning systems and windshields were also common, each accounting for 3 to 6 percent of the cases.

Newsweek's estimates are likely to be on the lower end of the scale, given that not all Russian aircraft incidents are reported in the public domain.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

The country's aviation industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions imposed after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The United States and the EU have demanded the return of leased aircraft, although the Kremlin has sought to work around this by encouraging carriers to re-register the aircraft in Russia.

This has meant that the planes have continued to fly without receiving crucial software upgrades and mandated maintenance checks required to guarantee their airworthiness, Bloomberg reported in March.

Russia is attempting to try to bypass other sanctions and look for ways to substitute Western-made spare parts and equipment for its aircraft to keep the industry afloat.

According to Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, the country has lost 76 passenger jets since February 2022, due to Western sanctions.

In the first eight days of December, there were at least eight reported aircraft failures in Russia.

On Friday, in the city of Novosibirsk in Siberia, southern Russia, a Boeing 737 passenger plane made an emergency landing due to engine problems. None of the 176 people on board the plane were injured, Russian Telegram channel Baza reported.

A day earlier, a Russian plane's engine caught fire during takeoff from the city of Ulan-Ude in Buryatia.

"The plane landed. There were no injuries," Alexey Tsydenov, head of Buryatia, said on his Telegram channel of the Tu-204 cargo plane, which was flying to Zhangzhou, China.

The engine of the Aviastar-TU aircraft caught fire during takeoff at Baikal International Airport, he said, adding that the plane was able to land safely, and that there were no injuries among the five crew members onboard.

On December 6, a passenger plane flying from Kazan to Moscow was forced to make an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport due to engine failure, and between December 1 and 2, five planes broke down due to maintenance issues, according to The Moscow Times.

Kirill Yankov, chairman of Russia's Passengers Union, told Russian news outlet 74.ru that the rise in commercial aviation incidents has been driven by a lack of spare parts and maintenance.

"Firstly, it has become much more difficult to obtain spare parts and maintenance materials for many aircraft. And, secondly, what's worse, it's possible that spare parts that are not certified by the manufacturers have already begun to be installed on aircraft," Yankov said.

"We don't see an increase in plane crashes, but the number of accidents where no one dies has noticeably increased," he emphasized.

Overall flight safety has decreased due to Western sanctions, Yankov added.

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