New defendants will appear in the case of a fighter accidentally shot down during a training exercise

The case of the pilot Savelyev, who accidentally shot down the Su-30 during the exercises, was returned to the prosecutor's office

During the exercise, he accidentally fired at a fighter with real shells instead of simulating an attack, they will combine with the case of technicians who did not de-energize the cannon of Savelyev's ship. This is reported by Novaya Gazeta.

According to the newspaper, a day before the start of the trial, army investigators opened a criminal case against specialists Erbetkin and Solomintsev, who were preparing the fighter for flight. The prosecutor insisted that they were also involved in the incident, as they violated the pre-flight preparation requirements.

In particular, the technicians had to remove the bombs from the fighter and de-energize the cannon. None of this was done. Moreover, the information that the plane remains on alert was not reflected in the fighter training log for exercises.

The court returned Savelyev's case to the prosecutor's office, where it will be combined with new criminal cases.

The incident took place on September 22, 2020 in the Bologovsky district of the Tver region. A squadron of two Su-35S fighters, commanded by 34-year-old Major Savelyev, and Su-30M2 practiced air battles.

Savelyev, as a pursuer pilot, pressed a key that was supposed to activate a photo simulation of shooting. But instead, a short burst from an automatic cannon was fired at the Su-30. The car lost control and crashed in the forest. Both pilots managed to eject and were not injured.

They wanted to imprison Savelyev for seven years under Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of flight rules or preparation for them”). At the same time, usually shooting incidents are qualified under lighter articles, which provide for punishment in the form of a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.

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