2 russian airline planes had engine failures during flights

Two russian airline planes were forced to return to their departure airports due to engine failure shortly after takeoff.

The first incident occurred with an Airbus A321neo of Ural Airlines, which was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to Yekaterinburg. At an altitude of 4,500 meters, the left engine of the plane failed.

The second incident occurred with a Boeing 737 of NordStar Airlines, which was flying from Volgograd to Yekaterinburg on the evening of January 2. At an altitude of 11,300 meters, the left engine of the plane also failed.

After these incidents, the press services of both airlines reported that the planes had been taken out of service for technical inspection and condition assessment.

Before the start of the war in Ukraine, the russian aircraft fleet consisted of 1,031 aircraft, two-thirds of which were Boeing and Airbus aircraft. However, U.S. and EU sanctions have banned the maintenance of these aircraft, as well as the supply of new airliners. In 2023, the russian government secretly allowed airlines to engage in "cannibalization" of aircraft - removing serviceable spare parts from one airliner to install them on others.

Russia's attempts to establish its own production of aviation parts have not yet yielded significant results. According to the forecast of the analytical company Oliver Wyman, by 2026 the russian aircraft fleet may be reduced by more than half.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) previously gave russia a "red flag" - an indicator of a low level of flight safety, which, apart from russia, only Bhutan, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have.

In 2024, the number of aviation incidents in russia reached a record high in the past six years. By the end of November, 208 incidents had been recorded - 30% more than in the same period in 2023. In late November and early December alone, three Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft failed during flights.

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