Russia Declines Probe Of Prigozhin Plane Crash Under International Rules

Russia has informed Brazil’s Aircraft Investigation Authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made Embraer (EMBR3.SA) jet that killed Mercenary Boss Yevgeny Prigozhin under international rules “at the moment”, the Brazilian Agency says.

Prigozhin, two top Lieutenants of his Wagner Group and four bodyguards were among 10 people who died when the Embraer Legacy 600 crashed North of Moscow last week.

Russia’s Aviation Authority was not obligated to say yes to CENIPA, but some former investigators said it should, as the U.S. and other Western Governments suspect the Kremlin of being behind the  August 23 crash of the Embraer Legacy 600, which has a good safety record.

However, the Kremlin denies any involvement.

Prigozhin was publicly critical of Moscow’s prosecution of its invasion of Ukraine. The Wagner mercenaries fought battles there on Russia’s side.

According to the Montreal-based United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the flight from Moscow with a destination of St Petersburg was domestic, so it is not subject to international rules known throughout the industry by their legal name “Annex 13.”

U.S. aviation safety consultant and former investigator John Cox said an internal Russian investigation would always be questioned without the participation of Brazil, the Country where the plane was manufactured.

“I think it’s very sad,” Cox said after being told of the Russian response. “I think it hurts the transparency of the Russian investigation.”

CENIPA said in an emailed statement it got the response from the Interstate Aviation Committee Commission on Accident Investigation (IAC), with the Russian Authority saying it would not open for now a probe under Annex 13.

In air crash investigations, experts work to improve aviation safety without assigning blame, but probes are often tainted by political interests.

CENIPA and manufacturer Embraer want to prevent future accidents but face challenges in getting information from the investigation due to sanctions on Russia and Moscow’s reluctance to allow outside scrutiny.

REUTERS