The Russian SU-33 fighter jet is seen sinking in the Mediterranean in leaked images showing the aftermath of the botched landing on Putin’s Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in 2016.
- The Sukhoi Su-33 sank in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016
- New images show it still attached to Russia’s flagship aircraft carrier.
- Smoke can also be seen billowing from exposed parts of the plane.
Dramatic new footage has emerged of a Russian Sukhoi Su-33 fighter jet sinking in deep sea waters after falling from a “cursed” aircraft carrier.
The footage, shared this week on several military-focused Telegram channels, shows the fighter jet sinking into the water while still attached to the ship it attempted to land on by its arresting team.
Smoke can also be seen billowing from exposed parts of the plane, which appears to have been filmed just below the ship’s desk it was attached to.
The sinking is believed to have taken place in 2016. At the time, the Russian Defense Ministry said a Su-33 fighter jet crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after returning with Admiral Kuznetsov from a mission in Syria.
The ministry attributed the sinking, which took place in December 2016, to “a failure of the discharge system cable.”
Footage shows Su-33 fighter jet sinking into water in Mediterranean
Smoke can also be seen billowing from exposed parts of the plane.
He added that the pilot who was on the plane at the time managed to eject and was unharmed.
It was the second loss of an aircraft from Russia’s only aircraft carrier in two months. In November of that year, a MiG-29 crashed into the sea while attempting to land at the Admiral Kuznetsov.
In early 2017, Admiral Kuznetsov was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as part of Russia’s campaign in Syria, launching the first carrier-based strikes in Russian naval history.
The aircraft carrier is the flagship of the Russian navy, but has been out of service since 2018 and has remained in dry dock awaiting overhaul and upgrades.
But the seemingly cursed ship has faced a number of problems since it was temporarily taken out of service.
The Admiral Kuznetsov has suffered a series of disasters since its launch in 1985 and is known for belching black smoke.
Despite this, the Kremlin has used it to try to project military power away from Russia’s shores.
In December last year, the 300-metre vessel suffered substantial damage when it caught fire while docked in the port city of Murmansk in northwestern Russia.
In 2019, the carrier suffered significant damage caused by a fire, which claimed the life of at least one worker and left ten more injured.
Additionally, in 2018 a giant crane crashed into the ship, severely damaging it and causing the death of one worker and four injuries.
