Second Russian warplane crashes aboard aircraft carrier in three weeks

For the second time in three weeks, a Russian warplane based aboard the sole Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov has taken flight- directly into the sea.

After the loss of a MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter on November 14th, the crew of Russia’s only aircraft carrier is no doubt disappointed to have lost a Su-33 Flanker on Saturday.

According to The Aviationist, the fighter crashed into the Mediterranean after a second attempt to land on the carrier in good weather conditions, missing the arresting cable and crashing off the bow of the massive warship.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the incident did occur and that the pilot was rescued by helicopter after ejecting.

Military analysts report that the carrier’s fixed-wing force has been depleted by about 20%, with the ship’s standard complement of fighters consisting of five Su-33s and four MiG-29Ks. This dismal loss of capability comes only mere weeks after the Kuznetsov began her debut operational deployment.

The Admiral Kuznetsov is currently cruising off the coast of Syria, with several of its aircraft reportedly now operating from land bases -such as Syria’s Humaymim Air Base- rather than from the ship.