2 Russian pilots killed as warplane crashes into Siberia building during exercise

Su-30 fighter jet falls on two-story wooden building, sparking fire; no reports of casualties on the ground in 11th reported noncombat crash since start of Ukraine invasion

MOSCOW — A Russian warplane crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk Sunday, killing both crewmembers, regional authorities said. There was no immediate information on casualties on the ground.

Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev said the plane came down on a two-story building in the city.

The local branch of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the Su-30 fighter jet crashed during a training flight and fell on a two-story wooden building, sparking a fire.

Videos posted on social networks from surveillance cameras showed the building engulfed by flames and firefighters deployed to extinguish the blaze.

The crash came less than a week after another Russian warplane crashed near an apartment building in the Sea of Azov port of Yeysk and exploded in a giant fireball, killing 15 and injuring another 19.

Sunday’s crash was the 11th reported noncombat crash of a Russian warplane since Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Military experts have noted that as the number of Russian military flights increased sharply during the fighting, so did the crashes.

רוסיה: מטוס צבאי התרסק בבניין מגורים במחוז אירקוטסק@itamargalit pic.twitter.com/uThpjgDfLo

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 23, 2022

Irkutsk, a major industrial center of more than 600,000 in eastern Siberia, is home to an aircraft factory producing the Su-30 fighter planes.

The Su-30 is a supersonic twin-engine, two-seat fighter that has been a key component of the Russian air force and also has been used by India and other countries.