Summary
- Takeaway 1: The boss of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his commander were onboard the private aircraft that crashed near Moscow today.
- Takeaway 2: Flight tracking data showed a steep drop in altitude and the signal was lost over a remote, forested area with no suitable airfields for landing.
- Takeaway 3: Wagner Group recently led a rebellion in Russia, with Prigozhin criticizing the Russian war in Ukraine, but called off the attack after two days to avoid further violence.
A private aircraft crashed just north of Moscow, Russia, earlier today, August 23. The boss of the Wagner Group, a private military company that was funded by the Russian government, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his commander, Dmitry Utkin, were both aboard the plane that crashed. Wagner Group has had its fighters deployed in support of the Russian government's allies several times.
Deadly plane crash
The aircraft, which was an Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet that was registered as RA-02795, was bound for St. Petersburg from Moscow. However, shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino Tver, which is about 160 miles north of the center of Moscow.
Flight tracking data provided information that the aircraft took off Wednesday evening before its transponder lost signal just minutes after takeoff. The plane showed a steep drop in altitude 30 seconds before the signal was lost. The signal was also lost over a very remote area that was full of forests. There were no airfields suitable for a safe landing near the crash site.
Photos of the crash have been spread on Wagner-led social media accounts. The photos show a partial tail number that matches the Wagner group-owned jet. Furthermore, the color of the aircraft and number placement match photos of the Wagner aircraft.
Everyone aboard the business jet, which included seven passengers and three pilots, died in the crash. A Wagner Group-affiliated Telegram channel and Russia's civil aviation authority both confirmed that both Prigozhin and Utkin were aboard the plane when it crashed.
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, released a statement about the incident. The statement read,
"An investigation has been launched into the Embraer plane crash that occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the passenger list, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin."
The Embraer Legacy 600 was developed from the Embraer ERJ145. Embraer has delivered nearly 300 of these aircraft since its first flight in 2001. Additionally, there has only been one accident in its long history in 2006.
Wagner Group in recent news
The privately owned military group had been brought up in recent news for its rebellion within Russia. The group led a short-lived uprising in June. The uprising was led by months of comments from Prigozhin in which he criticized the Russian war in Ukraine. Specifically, Prigozhin spoke against the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and one of the top generals of the Russian military, Valery Gerasimov. Prigozhin disagreed with the handling of the Ukraine invasion.
The group revolted against top Russian military leaders and stormed Moscow in June, led by Prigozhin. The attack included a march across Russia's capital city. Wagner's militants also shot down several Russian military helicopters and killed several pilots.
However, Prigozhin called off the attack after just two days in order to avoid further bloodshed. This was also due to the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, brokering a deal between the Russian government and the Wagner Group. Within this deal, Prigozhin relocated to Belarus. However, he has been able to move freely within Russia since the deal took place.