Russia notified Brazil’s aviation authority on Tuesday that it will not conduct an international investigation into the plane crash that killed mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin under international rules “at the moment,” the Brazilian agency told Reuters on Tuesday.
Prigozhin, two of his Wagner Group’s senior lieutenants, and four bodyguards were among the ten people who died when an Embraer Legacy 600 crashed north of Moscow last week.
Russia Refuses to Investigate a Plane Crash
The plane crash occurred precisely two months after Prigozhin launched a brief rebellion against the Russian military and was, according to reports, considered a significant threat to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Brazil’s Centre for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA) has stated that it would join a Russian-led investigation if requested and that the inquiry would be conducted per international law to enhance aviation safety.
According to a Reuters report, Russia’s aviation authority did not respond to CENIPA, but few former investigators believe it should have because the US and other Western nations accuse the Kremlin of being behind the accident of the Embraer Legacy 600, which has a solid safety record.
Montreal-based United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) claimed, that the flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg was domestic, so it was not subject to international rules known in the industry as “Annex 13,” the report stated.
Russia informed Brazil's aviation authority that it will not open an investigation into the plane crash that killed mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin under international rules "at the moment" — Brazilian agency pic.twitter.com/OdKJXngmZC
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 29, 2023
“They are not obliged, only recommended,” CENIPA chief Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno told Reuters after the agency asked Russia whether it would begin such an investigation in an email last week. Moreno added, “But if they say they’ll open the investigation and invite Brazil, we will participate from afar.”
In a statement sent via email, CENIPA stated that it had received a response from the Interstate Aviation Committee-Commission on Accident Investigation (IAC), with the Russian government saying it would not initiate an investigation under Annex 13.
Expert Opinions
Experts, like former US aviation safety consultant and former investigator John Cox, have emphasised the significance of transparency in such investigations.
According to Reuters, Cox thinks that an internal Russian inquiry without the participation of Brazil, the aircraft’s origin, may be suspicious.
Former US aviation accident investigator Jeff Guzzetti believes Russia could use help from Brazil, even if CENIPA can only participate remotely. “If they don’t, well, then that’s a sure sign that it’s not going to be a transparent investigation.”
According to reports, the aircraft’s manufacturer, Embraer, refused to comment on the matter as concerns grew about obtaining information from the inquiry due to international sanctions against Russia and the refusal of Russian authorities to permit an external investigation.