Report: Arresting cable, engine failure cause of Russian MiG-29K crash

The recent crash of one of the four new Russian MiG-29K operating from the deck of the Russian Navy’s only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is being blamed on multiple events that combined to force a Russian pilot to eject from the fighter jet that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

According to a report from USNI News, Russian media have revealed that a failure of the aircraft carrier’s arresting cable was primarily at fault for the crash.

Three jets were returning from a reconnaissance flight over the Syrian city of Aleppo on the day of the incident. The first of three jets landed safely while the second managed to land catching a reserve arresting cable after the main one snapped.

Following the arresting cable incident with the second fighter jet, the last aircraft from the group was directed not to land and stay above the ship until the deck was cleared for landing.

However, the aircraft stopped taking in fuel and both its engines shut down causing the aircraft to start rapidly decelerating and eventually forcing the pilot to eject, USNI News wrote.

As War Zone’s Tyler Rogoway observed, there is a probability that the last fighter ran out of fuel before it was cleared to land aboard the carrier.