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Number of plane crash deaths in Russia hits decade low in 2023

REUTERS
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2024

MOSCOW: The number of people killed in plane crashes in Russia dropped to a decade low in 2023, despite Western sanctions on Russia’s aviation industry which had raised concerns about flight safety, according to new data.

Sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine include a ban on the supply of spare parts and services for Russian airlines.

But even as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by foreign manufacturers, data from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) that oversees accident investigations, showed that 2022 and 2023 were the safest years in the last decade.

There were 11 deadly accidents in Russia in 2023 which killed a total of 20 people, four fewer than the figure for 2022, the IAC said in a report.

The IAC’s data does not include the death of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose plane crashed in August 2023, killing all 10 people on board.