Russian jet crashes in failed carrier landing near Syria

Incident marks second unsuccessful landing since the Admiral Kuznetsov arrived in the region in November

Russia’s defense ministry on Monday said a Sukhoi jet attempting a landing on its Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier crashed after rolling off the deck.

“After carrying out its military assignment in Syrian airspace, a Su-33 fighter rolled beyond the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier during landing due to breakage of the arresting cable,” the defense ministry said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

Monday’s incident marked the the second crash of a Russian warplane in a month.

On November 14, a Russian Mig-29K fighter crashed due to a “technical fault” a few miles from the carrier.

In this 2004 file photo, Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is seen in the Barents Sea. (AP Photo, File)

The Admiral Kuznetsov arrived in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast as part of a flotilla of ships sent to reinforce Russia’s military in the area last month.

Despite the fanfare surrounding Russia’s dispatch of its sole aircraft carrier to take part in its Syria operations, the two crashes have showed the serious technological shortcomings of the aging vessel.

A recent report by IHS Jane’s, a military intelligence company, said satellite imagery shows that many of the jets that arrived on the ship have been moved to Russia’s main airfield in Syria due to the difficulties encountered in conducting sorties from the aircraft carrier.

The Admiral Kuznetsov lacks the catapult launching system featured on US aircraft carries, making it increasingly more difficult for planes to take off from its deck. Western officials also told The Wall Street Journal last month that Russia suffers from a lack of pilots trained in taking off and on an operational aircraft carrier.

Russian fighter jets on the tarmac at the Russian Hmeimim military base in Latakia province, in the northwest of Syria, February 16, 2016. (AFP/STRINGER)

Russia has been flying a bombing campaign in Syria for the past year, primarily from its Hmeimim airbase in northern Syria, in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad and has also deployed a naval contingent to back up its operation.

As of mid-November, 20 Russians have officially been killed in combat so far, although Reuters reported last month that numerous more fighting in Syria as private military contractors have also been killed. Their deaths are not included in Russia’s official tally.