Shot by Alexander Markin

The model of the Embraer private jet that crashed in Russia with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenaries, on board has only one recorded accident in more than 20 years of service, and it was not related to mechanical failure.

Russian authorities said Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the plane that crashed Wednesday night, killing all 10 people on board. The Russian news agency TASS reported that the plane was a Brazilian Embraer.

The company said it is aware of a plane crash in Russia involving a Legacy 600 aircraft, but has no further information on the case and has not provided maintenance services for that aircraft since 2019.

„Embraer has complied with the international sanctions imposed on Russia,“ the aircraft maker said. The sanctions prohibit Western aircraft manufacturers from providing parts or maintenance for aircraft operated in Russia.

The Legacy 600 entered service in 2002, according to International Aviation HQ, with almost 300 produced until production ceases in 2020.

There is only one recorded incident involving the Legacy 600 according to International Aviation HQ, which occurred in 2006. That time the machine collided mid-air with a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 on its way from Embraer’s plant in Brazil to the United States.

Despite the damage to the smaller plane, the pilot landed it and no one was killed or injured. The commercial flight’s Boeing crashed, killing all 154 passengers.

Two years later, a Brazilian air force report blamed two American pilots, air traffic controllers and faulty communications for the mid-air collision. At the time, a lawyer for the pilots said specific air traffic controllers and deficiencies in Brazil’s air traffic control system caused the accident.

Материалът This is the first breakdown of the Embraer Legacy 600 model since it was created е публикуван за пръв път на Vihrogon.bg.