The Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 was climbing out after departure from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport when a lightning strike disabled its electrical system, prompting the flight crew to declare an urgency and return to the airport. The airplane landed with three hard touchdowns, then veered off the runway in flames.
The May 5, 2019, accident killed 41 of the 78 passengers and crewmembers and seriously injured nine others. The airplane, also known as an RRJ-95B, was destroyed.
The Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, in its final report on the accident, said the probable cause was “the uncoordinated control inputs by the PIC [pilot-in-command] at the flare, landing, and through the several repeated bounces of the aircraft.” The hard touchdowns damaged the main landing gear and fuel tanks, leading to fuel spills and a fire that consumed the rear portion of the airplane.
The report, issued in March, cited 14 contributing factors, including “ineffective”…
