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The Russian authorities will conduct proceedings in connection with the incident with the long-range Tu-22M3 bomber at the Shaikovka airfield near Kaluga, as a result of which three servicemen were killed. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who oversees the military-industrial complex, reports RIA Novosti.
“We are still going to figure it out,” he told reporters.
The incident with the Tu-22M3 at the Shaikovka airfield became known on Tuesday, March 23rd. Initially, it was reported that the plane crashed or made an emergency landing. Later, information appeared that an emergency occurred on the ground – the bomber's catapults worked abnormally. Three servicemen were killed. One pilot survived: he managed to buckle up, while the rest were still fastened in the cockpit. There are no casualties or injuries among the local residents.
Hero of Russia, test pilot Anatoly Knyshov suggested that sabotage could be the reason for the abnormal operation of the catapult on the bomber. According to him, the ejection system “has been tested for decades” and is used only when the aircraft's engine fails and the speed drops sharply. In the case of the incident near Kaluga, there were no prerequisites for activating the mechanism, since the Tu-22M3 was on the ground.
Tu-22M3 is a modification of the Soviet supersonic missile carrier-bomber Tu-22M. The aircraft is designed to engage ground and sea targets from high, medium and low altitudes. It entered service in 1989 and became the most massive long-range bomber. Tu-22M3 bombers took part in operations in Syria.
