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The maker of the airliner that allegedly crashed on the outskirts of Moscow on which Wagner Group founder Evgeny Prigozhin was on board has suspended support services for the business jet since 2019 due to “international sanctions,” the report said. Said they didn’t provide it.
Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer SA told Reuters it was aware of a plane crash involving a Legacy 600 in Russia on Wednesday. Russian state media reports that a mercenary warlord who recently challenged the rule of President Vladimir Putin has died.
“Embraer has complied with international sanctions imposed on Russia,” a company spokesperson added, according to Reuters.
The plane was built in 2007 and was pre-registered in 2019, making it subject to US Treasury sanctions, the news agency said.
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Wreckage of the plane can be seen burning after a reported crash in the Tver region of Russia on Wednesday. (Reuters/Ostrozhno Novosti/Reuters photo)
“The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control took action against Russian officials who tried to influence the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, but foreign officials prevented or altered votes. There was no indication that it was harassing or compromising electoral infrastructure.
Prior to Wednesday’s accident in Russia’s Tver region, the Legacy 600 had only recorded one accident in more than 20 years of operation, Reuters also reported. About 300 of the planes were built before production was discontinued in 2020, he added, citing the International Aviation Headquarters.
The previous crash was in 2006, when a Legacy 600 crashed into a Boeing 737-800 en route from the Embraer plant in Brazil to the United States, killing all 154 on board, according to Reuters.
The business jet was en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg when it crashed on Wednesday, according to TASS news agency.
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The wreckage of a private jet associated with Wagner Mercenary Commander Evgeny Prigozhin can be seen near the crash site in Russia’s Tver region on Thursday. (Reuters/Marina Listseva/Reuters photo)
“Prigogine was among the passengers, according to the Federal Air Transport Administration,” a TASS Telegram post said. “An investigation into the Embraer crash has been launched,” the ministry said.
Russian state media later reported that Prigozhin had died in the crash.
In late June, Prigozhin launched what observers called the most important challenge to the Putin regime in 23 years.
After advancing a force of 25,000 strong mercenaries to within 125 miles of Moscow, Prigozhin abruptly ended the operation and ordered his troops to return home before defecting to Belarus.
On August 21, 2023, Evgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Russian private security firm Wagner Group, was seen holding a rifle in an unspecified desert area in Africa. (Wagner Account/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The same plane that crashed Wednesday was seen flying from Belarus to Russia in June after the uprising, Reuters reported.
FOX News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
