Crash of Russian Air Force Tupolev TU-22M3 supersonic bomber caught on video

On 22 January 2019, a Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic bomber crashed during landing at its home base in Olenegorsk, Russia.

The supersonic bomber was returning from a routine training mission in the early afternoon and attempted to land at Olenegorsk Air Base near Murmansk in Russia. The aircraft made a 7.13g landing while the structural limit for the bomber is 4g. Local weather conditions at the air base during landing were reported as being very poor with a cloud base of 90 meters, temperature of -10°C, snow and mist.

During impact with the runway, the aircraft broke into two pieces and immediately burst into flames. Unfortunately, three of the four crew members did not survive the crash. Two pilots died during the crash, a third crew member (navigator) died as he was being transported to a hospital.

Military aviation website Scramble Magazine published this video on Sunday 27 January 2019, showing the landing and crash of the Russian supersonic bomber.

The Tupolev Tu-22M (NATO callsign ‘Backfire’) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing strategic bomber. The aircraft made its first flight in 1969 and was introduced into active service in 1972. In total 497 aircraft were built until production stopped in 1997. In 2014, around 100 aircraft were believed to be still in active service.

27 January 2019

Source: Scramble Magazine