Prigozhin's plane crash: why the investigation is not going according to the rules of the ICAO

What should Russia do, according to the norms of international law

The investigation of civil aircraft crashes is regulated by the Chicago Convention of ICAO, which was adopted in 1947. According to Annex 13 According to the Convention, Russia is obliged to notify the aircraft manufacturer country and the ICAO about an aviation accident, explains aviation expert Vadim Lukashevich «NI»:

— Manufacturers are obliged to provide all the necessary information on this aircraft, and also have the right to appoint their representative to participate in the investigation. In fact, it is not up to us to invite these representatives or not, but they should decide whether to send their people or not».

Embraer — 135 c aircraft Evgeny Prigozhin and other Wagnerians on board, which crashed in Tver region, was of Brazilian production. Brazil is the first country that has the right to investigate. But not only: this type of aircraft is equipped with American-made Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbo-fan engines. Therefore, both the American concern and the US aviation authorities have the right to participate in the investigation. The third in line are the aviation authorities of the countries where other components of the machine were produced. But only Brazilians and Americans would have the right to access all the case materials, the rest of the countries devote only to those episodes of the investigation that relate directly to the components produced in them.

— From past experience, we can recall the investigation of the MH17 disaster, — says Vadim Lukashevich, — then the United States fully participated in the investigation, as a developer, aircraft manufacturer and engine manufacturer. Russia then participated only to a limited extent, as it provided data from radars and data on Buk systems,» Lukashevich said.

The result of the investigation according to international rules is a report that is available to everyone. For example, the report of the investigation of the plane crash involving Polish President Kaczynski near Smolensk can still be read on the Internet.

… and what did Russia actually do

The Brazilian Accident Investigation Committee CENIPA sent an e-mail request last week asking whether the Russian aviation authorities would launch an investigation into the accident with Prigozhin's plane in Tver region.

In response, the Interstate Aviation Committee said that the Russian authorities would not launch investigations yet. Then the Brazilian Center for Research and Prevention of Air Navigation Accidents (CENIPA) notified the Russians that he would like to join the investigative actions.

According to Reuters, the Embraer — 135 aircraft is considered a reliable device and has «good safety indicators.» American aviation security consultant and former investigator John Cox, upon learning that Brazilians would not be allowed to investigate, expressed the opinion that without Brazil, the credibility of the results would be violated:

«I think it's very sad… I think it harms the transparency of the Russian investigation.»

Today, Russia's decision to investigate the Embraer—135 crash independently, without observing international rules, was confirmed in the Kremlin. Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov justified it this way:

«Firstly, the investigation is being conducted by the Investigative Committee of Russia, President Putin spoke about this, and this is our Russian investigation. Therefore, in this case, we cannot talk about some kind of international investigation. In this case, the situation related to this plane crash is completely different. Obviously, there are different versions, among which there is a deliberate atrocity, let's say. Let's still wait for the results of the investigation.»

As you know, Yevgeny Prigozhinzhin and 9 other people, including 3 crew members, crashed in the crash of a Brazilian-made Embraer-135 aircraft on August 23 in Tver region. Prigozhin himself was buried yesterday in St. Petersburg.