MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax-AVN) - An SU-27 Flanker jetfighter of the 11th army of the Russian Air Force and Air Defense has crashed in Russia's Far East.
The plane crashed 40 kilometers north of Vladivostok, head of the Air Force press service Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday. Search and rescue teams examining the scene from the air spotted a parachute and a radio beacon. A helicopter with rescuers aboard has rushed to the scene.
According to data available to Drobyshevsky, the SU-27 disappeared from radar screens at 9:17 Moscow time (0617 GMT) on Tuesday. Communication with the aircraft broke simultaneously. The SU-27 piloted by 3rd class pilot Captain Tsvetkov was 10km from the Tsentralnaya-Uzlovaya military airfield at that moment.
The SU-27 fighter is intended for long-range and short-range aerial combat, interception and destruction of piloted and pilotless planes over friendly territory and supporting actions of friendly aviation at a distance of 300 to 400 kilometers from the line of ground engagement.