MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) – The pilot of a Soviet-era Su-25 fighter jet that crashed this week during a training flight in southern Russia has been found dead, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
The accident happened Monday evening over Russia’s Krasnodar region and the Defense Ministry said initially that the pilot had survived after ejecting safely.
“At 8:32 a.m. the ground search and rescue team found the body of the pilot in the area where the Su-25 came down,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters Tuesday.
“According to reports from the accident site the pilot tried to land the aircraft on open ground after he had guided it away from nearby towns. The aircraft exploded on contact with the ground,” he added.
Military investigators said Tuesday they have opened a case to look into whether any flight rules were broken, or whether there were any violations in the flight preparation of the aircraft.
The Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau to provide close air support for ground troops. The aircraft has been in service with the Russian Air Force for more than 25 years. It has also been exported to dozens of countries.
