95 incidents in 12 years: Is the Sukhoi Superjet safe?

The Sukhoi Superjet is a relative newcomer to the aviation world, having first entered service in April 2011. In that short time, the aircraft has been involved in 95 recorded incidents, five of which resulted in complete hull losses.

Three of these incidents led to fatalities, with the SSJ-100 claiming 89 lives. That might lead one to ask the question: is the Sukhoi Superjet safe?

The short answer is yes, it’s as safe as any commercial aircraft out there. However, sanctions on Russian companies could change that in years to come. We explain why.

Sukhoi Superjet 100 specificationsFirst flightMay 19, 2008Entry into serviceApril 21, 2011Number built229 (estimated)Cockpit crew2Passenger capacity87 (2-class) to 108 (1-class)Length29.94 m (98 ft 3 in)Wingspan27.80 m (91 ft 2 in)Engines2 x turbofan SaM146-1S18SpeedMach 0.78–0.81Range4,578 km (2,472 nmi)Who flies the Sukhoi Superjet?

The geographic spread of the SSJ-100 is very limited in terms of commercial carriers.

An early adopter of the Sukhoi Superjet was Mexican carrier Interjet, taking delivery of its first in September 2013. But the SSJs didn’t work well for the airline, plagued with reliability issues and a slow supply of spare parts. 

Carlos Yudica/ShutterstockBy mid-2019, 15 of Interjet’s 22 SSJs were parked up, and it was looking to replace them with Airbus A320neos. But by the end of 2020, Interjet was in so much debt it had to stop flying, and declared bankruptcy in April 2021.

In Europe, CityJet was the only customer for Sukhoi, taking delivery of seven aircraft between June 2016 and December 2018. They flew on wet-lease for Brussels Airlines for a while but suffered similar reliability problems. By February 2020, CityJet had got rid of all its Superjets.

Just four SSJ-100s are operated by foreign owners—three aircraft by the Royal Thai Air Force and one by Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee. So, of the 111 (or so) active aircraft, you’re highly unlikely to encounter one outside of Russia.

How many Sukhoi Superjets have been lost or damaged?

The problem with a Russian aircraft that only flies in Russia is, right now, there’s not much data available for Russian airlines. In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, airlines were removed from alliances, kicked out of membership organizations, and stopped sharing information with the West.

Karasev Viktor / ShutterstockFrom previous accounts, there could have been as many as 229 SSJ-100s built in Russia. Planespotters.net tracks 192 individual airframes, and specifies the following status of the fleet:

Active: 111

Parked: 28

Stored: 47

Scrapped: 1

Written off: 5
Five hull losses from such a small fleet is significant. The Boeing 727 is known as the type with the most hull losses, with 120 aircraft lost to crashes, terrorist acts, and other incidents. But that’s out of a fleet of 1,832 (not to mention technology from the 1950s). 

Aviation Safety Network (ASN) lists a total of 95 incidents involving the Sukhoi Superjet. However, these range from very minor events, such as a precautionary return to origin due to a suspected fault, to catastrophic crashes that claimed dozens of lives.

The five hull losses of the Sukhoi Superjet

Five SSJs have been scrapped due to damage since 2012. These are the five:

DateIncidentOutcomeCauseMay 9, 2012SSJ-100 crashed into Mount Salak, West JavaOccupants: 45Fatalities: 45Pilot errorOctober 25, 2015Collided with a jetway while being towed at MEXDamaged beyond repair (no injuries)Operator errorOctober 10, 2018Runway excursion and main landing gear collapse at YKSOccupants: 92Fatalities: 0Pilot/airport errorMay 5, 2019Struck by lightning causing an electrical fault, crash-landed and burst into flamesOccupants: 78Fatalities: 41Not concluded (although the captain has been imprisoned)July 12, 2024Crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flamesOccupants: 3Fatalities: 3Not concludedThe first loss of an SSJ-100 happened not long after it was introduced. Sukhoi was taking a plane load of prospective customers, staff, and journalists on a demonstration flight over Indonesia when the aircraft crashed into Mount Salak at an elevation of 6,100 ft. The investigation concluded that the pilot was distracted and had ignored alarms from the Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS) when it crashed.

The crash site. Courtesy BAAAThe incident in Mexico City in October 2015 involved an aircraft that hadn’t even taken off. The aircraft, registered XA-PBA and operated by Interjet, was being towed to the terminal from one of the hangars and had no passengers on board when it collided with a passenger jetway. CIDAIA Mexico investigated and concluded that the incident was due to human error.

The third time a Sukhoi Superjet was written off was during a landing at Yakutsk Airport (YKS) in Russia. RA-89011 was operating for Yakutia Airlines when it overran the operable runway and entered an area under reconstruction. Significant damage was caused to the forward fuselage, including the separation of both landing gear bogies. 

Investigations concluded that the aircraft was dispatched with one thrust reverser inoperable. Given the icy conditions at Yakutsk that day, the friction coefficient was such that the aircraft was unable to stop before the end of the runway. Human error was determined. The airline tried to sell the plane, claiming it was in a repairable condition, but ultimately it was broken up at YKS in October 2023.

WikimediaThe most devastating accident, and the one that caused the most concern for the safety of the SSJ-100, happened in May 2019 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport (SVO). The Aeroflot flight with aircraft RA-89098 was leaving Moscow for Murmansk Airport (MMK) but returned to the airport shortly after takeoff.

It came in much too fast and touched down late and hard. The force of the hard landing caused it to bounce back up by around two meters, rupturing the wing and fuel line. A fire broke out and quickly engulfed the rear of the plane, claiming 41 of the 78 lives on board.

Courtesy Russian Investigative CommitteeInitial reports suggest the aircraft may have been hit by lightning on takeoff, leading to a failure of electrical systems. Rosaviatsia has not concluded its investigation into the crash landing, but the captain of the flight has been sentenced to six years in prison. Denis Evdokimov was charged with violations of procedures, leading to the fatalities and the aircraft’s destruction.

The most recent fatal accident in July 2024 involved an SSJ belonging to Gazpromavia, which had been undergoing maintenance and was on a test flight. The aircraft crashed into a wooded area, killing all three crew on board. Investigations are ongoing, but initial reports suggest incorrect installation of the angle-of-attack sensors.

There could be a sixth hull loss on the way, following a hard landing incident last month (November 2024). An Azimuth service from Sochi to Antalya suffered a hard landing, causing damage to the undercarriage and a fuel spill. The number one engine ignited and shocking video footage showed passengers scrambling to get away from the burning aircraft. Data from Flightradar24 shows the SSJ has not been flown since the incident. 

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Is the Sukhoi Superjet safe?

From the hull losses, we can see that the completed investigations have concluded that human error was to blame in three of the five cases. While the other two are still being investigated, evidence suggests those will eventually point to human error as well.

But what of the other 90 reports logged by ASN? 

The first important note is that, of those 90 reports, only two resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft, and none led to any fatalities or serious injuries. In fact, trawling through the individual reports (yes, we did) shows that, in most cases, the reason for the incident was pretty innocuous.

Chart: AeroTime / Data: Aviation Safety NetworkThe cause of the incident was, more often than not, a fault with the aircraft. However, it must be emphasized that this is not unusual in aviation. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, for example, was only introduced in 2013 and now has a fleet of just under 650 aircraft in operation. ASN tracks 134 reports of issues with this model, most of which are minor aircraft faults.

Chart: AeroTime / Data: Aviation Safety NetworkThe Sukhoi Superjet has been under close scrutiny since entering service, as are all new aircraft types. Over the years, various design changes have been implemented to improve dispatch reliability and mitigate faults.

A growing problem?

Notable, however, is the rapid increase in the number of incident reports logged since sanctions were placed on Russia in early 2022. The SSJ-100 might be built in Russia, but a huge number of its components 

Chart: AeroTime / Data: Aviation Safety NetworkIn November 2023, Aviation Week reported that Russian MRO providers had only learned to repair 20% of the imported part numbers for the Superjet. That proportion has likely increased in the last year, but the sheer number of SSJs still ‘parked’ or ‘stored’ suggests airlines are still having issues keeping them operational.

The parent company of Sukhoi, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), had already begun working on a ‘Russified’ SSJ-100 before sanctions began. Dubbed the SJ-100, work on this accelerated in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, and the all-Russian aircraft took to the skies for the first time in 2023.

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However, the huge fleet of SSJs still flying with Western components remains an ongoing headache for airlines. It’s likely we’ll continue to see increasing numbers of incident reports as they struggle to maintain their jets. 

However, in answer to the question of whether the Superjet is safe, it is, at least for now. It has undergone the same rigorous testing and certification as all commercial planes do and continues to be monitored for safety, just like every other aircraft in our skies.The post 95 incidents in 12 years: Is the Sukhoi Superjet safe? appeared first on AeroTime.

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