Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo

The Legacy departed Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport shortly before 1645LT on a flight to St Petersburg-Pulkovo, carrying seven passengers and three crew members. According to the radar, while cruising at FL280, it entered an uncontrolled descent and spiraled into the ground until it crashed in an open field located near the village of Kuzhenkino, bursting into flames. The airplane was destroyed and all 10 occupants were killed. The airplane was the property of the Wagner Group owned by Evgueni Viktorovitch Prigozhine who was on board with Dmitry Utkin, n°2 of the group. It is showable on videos that the airplane was emanating white/grey smoke while spiraling to the ground.

The aircraft departed Sharm el-Sheikh at 0549LT bound for Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport and was cleared to climb to FL350. On board were 217 passengers and a crew of seven. Some 23 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft entered a steep descent and reached a descent rate of 6,000 feet per minute with a simultaneous reduction of speed before all radar and radio contact were lost at 0613LT. The aircraft crashed in a desert area located about 50 km southeast of Hasna, in the Sinai. None of the 224 occupants survived the accident. It appears the aircraft crashed in a slightly flat attitude and was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire (the central part of the fuselage and wings). Based on the debris scattered on a zone of 16 km2, it is now understood that the engines and the tail have been found few hundred metres from the main wreckage. It is believed the aircraft partially disintegrated in the air but probably during the last phase of the descent and not at high altitude.

During the takeoff roll, at a speed of 32 knots, the engine n°1 (a Soloviev D-30KU-154-II) exploded. The crew abandoned the takeoff procedure and started an emergency braking manoeuvre. The aircraft was stopped on the main runway and all 112 occupants evacuated safely. The aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair as several compressor elements punctured the engine n°1 nacelle, hit the fuselage and n°2 engine structure. A fire erupted on the left engine and destroyed the nacelle and a part of APU as well.

The aircraft departed Anapa Airport at 1505LT and climbed to the assigned altitude of 11,700 metres. Due to the presence of stormy weather ahead, the crew was cleared to modify his route and changed heading to avoid the thunderstorm area with CB's up to 15 km. The aircraft encountered severe turbulences and climbed from 11,961 metres to 12,794 metres within 10 seconds, reaching a super critical angle of attack of 46° with a speed dropping from 350 km/h to zero, causing all three engines to stop. The crew was able to send a brief message then the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent in a flat spin. At an altitude of 3,300 metres, the crew informed ATC that control was totally lost. The aircraft crashed in a prairie located near Novgorodskoye, about 45 km northwest of Donetsk. It was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire, and all 170 occupants were killed.

The aircraft was leaving Moscow on a ferry flight to St Petersburg following a charter flight from Sochi. On board were 16 crew members, among them 10 employees of the company. Two seconds after takeoff from runway 07L, while climbing to a height of about 200 metres, the stabilizers trimmed to the full up position of 12°. The aircraft nosed up and reached a super critical angle of attack. The crew attempted to regain control by pushing the control column forward but the aircraft stalled and crashed in a huge explosion about 700 metres past the runway end. Two stewardesses were injured while 14 other occupants were killed.

The aircraft departed Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport on a cargo flight to Voronezh, carrying seven passengers, three crew members and a load of electronics and TV sets. While climbing to an altitude of 860 metres, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in the Gulf of Finland, about 150 metres offshore. All 10 occupants were killed.

During the takeoff roll, the airplane was unable to rotate. It overran and came to rest against an embankment. There were no casualties and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.