Sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine have left airlines unable to get new planes or spare parts from major manufacturers. According to data compiled by Newsweek and the independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, there have been 180 plane malfunctions this year.
Between 2018 and 2022, there was an average of 55 plane malfunctions, with 60 last year, per Novaya Gazeta Europe. Russia recorded 11 civilian airplane incidents in the first eight days of December alone.
The sanctions left more than 700 planes worth $12 billion stranded in Russia after being leased to operators, Business Insider reported in 2022. Lessors managed to retrieve some of the aircraft, before a new law was implemented allowing foreign jets to be re-registered as Russian, per the BBC. Despite the sanctions, Russia has managed to keep many jets flying — smuggling in 14 million dollars of spare parts or taking them from grounded jets and creating a so-called "Frankenstein fleet.
But this all comes with safety risks, which appear to be showing up with the number of malfunctions. Two weeks ago, a Boeing 737 operated by Russian airline S7 bound for Moscow had to make an emergency landing after both its engines caught fire shortly after taking off in Siberia.
15th of August, hundreds of Russian tourists were left stranded in Turkey after two Boeing 777s operated by Red Wings were unable to take off because they broke down due to technical issues. Then on the 12th of Sptermber Ural Airlines was forced to ditch an Airbus A320 in a Siberian wheat field after its hydraulics system failed. The jet is still stuck there, as the airline is trying to repair it so it can take off from the field.
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