As the Kommersant newspaper reported in Sergey Mashkin's material, "The pilot was acquitted for accuracy. The criminal prosecution of the Su-30M2 shot down ended with a change in flight instructions," the Main Military Investigation Department (GVSU) of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (TFR) refused to prosecute the pilot of the Su-35S fighter Vasily Savelyev, who accidentally shot down another Su-30M2 fighter during a training battle on September 22, 2020 (about the process on this occasion, our the blog has already reported ). The reason for the defeat of the Su-30M2 worth more than 1 billion rubles was not the incorrect actions of Major Vasily Savelyev, but also outdated requirements for conducting training air battles. After the incident, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the manufacturer of the fighter, Sukhoi Company JSC, decided to change the methodology of the exercises to make them as safe as possible for people and equipment.
The Su-30M2 fighter lost during the incident on 22.09.2020 in the Tver region (tail number "60 red", registration number RF-95869, factory number 79810388415), which was part of the 790th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 105th Mixed Aviation Division of the 6th Leningrad Red Banner Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Western Military District (airfield Khotilovo, Tver region). The picture was taken in Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo airport) in 2018 (with) VLK spotter / russianplanes.net ( link )The Main Military Investigation Department of the TFR has stopped the criminal prosecution of the commander of the aviation link of the 790th fighter aviation regiment, military pilot 1st class Vasily Savelyev, who was accused of violating flight rules or preparing for them, which entailed serious consequences (Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Since the actions of Major Savelyev, as stated in the resolution, "there was no corpus delicti", the military pilot was not only acquitted outright, but also received the right to rehabilitation, which, however, has not yet been used. In any case, it was not possible to find his claims to the authorities for compensation for damage caused by unjustified persecution in the database of the courts.
The lawyer of the acquitted Andrei Yakovlev told Kommersant that the decision was made thanks to the "balanced and professional" approach of the investigator of the GVSU to the proceedings in the case and satisfied all parties. The defense lawyer declined to comment in more detail, citing the secrecy of the case.
Sources close to the investigation of Kommersant explained that the "refusal" decision was facilitated by a flight technical examination conducted on the initiative of the investigation.
Aviation specialists, including representatives of the Ministry of Defense and engineers of the Sukhoi Company that created the fighter, came to the conclusion that the former defendant acted correctly, trying to bring the conditions of the exercises as close as possible to an air battle with a real enemy. The emergency, according to experts, occurred, among other things, due to the fact that outdated instructions of the Ministry of Defense and Flight Operation Manuals (RLE) issued by the manufacturer of Su family fighters prevented military pilots from fully training. According to the interlocutor of Kommersant, agreeing with the conclusions of experts, both departments have already agreed and made the necessary changes to these documents.
Recall that an incident involving two fighters of the 790th aviation Regiment occurred on the afternoon of September 22, 2020 near the base airfield of Khotilovo in the Tver region. During the "training battle with a maneuverable aerial target at medium and high altitudes", Major Saveliev visited the Su-35 first as a target for the Su-30 crew, and then he himself organized the pursuit of the second Su-30M2. When pressing the "trigger" of the 30-mm GSH-30-1 automatic air cannon, only a photo fixation of the combat defeat should have occurred, but instead real shells flew into the Su-30M2. It should be noted that Vasily Savelyev reacted instantly to an emergency situation: he stopped the work of the gun, which makes 25 shots per second, already on the fifth shot. However, five shells were enough to disable the target aircraft: all of them hit exactly the target, destroying the hydraulic mechanization lines of the left wing.
The fighter immediately lost control, the pilots of the Su-30M2 had to eject, and the combat vehicle itself worth 1,143 billion rubles fell and crashed in the forest.
It was not immediately possible to deal with the causes of the emergency. The military investigative department of the TFR for the Tver garrison, which started the investigation, considered that the pilot Savelyev should be responsible for the accident. The charge against him was impressive. According to the garrison investigation, by his "inattentive, arrogant and negligent" actions, the officer "created a real threat to the life and health of the pilots," "undermined the combat readiness of the unit" and even "harmed the security of the state in the field of defense, expressed in the loss of the aircraft."
Vasily Saveliev, as it followed from the charges, violated the clause "Use of an integrated cannon installation on an aerial target" of the section "Combat use" of the Su-35 radar. According to this document, before taking off for a dogfight, the pilot had to turn off the Main switch, which supplies power to the electric circuits of weapons - bombs, missiles and guns. And immediately before the shooting - "to direct the aircraft in a safe direction, press the "Fire" trigger until it stops and make sure that a photo-control device turns on instead of shooting."
The pilot himself tried to convince the investigation that the plane was taken off combat duty a month before the exercises and before departure he was sure that his gun was at least brought into a non-combat position.
According to the former defendant, the absence of weapons on the Su-35 was confirmed by representatives of ground services with their signatures in the control sheet of the aircraft preparation log: an ensign technician and his supervisor, a senior lieutenant serving as an aircraft engineer.
But the conducted examination showed that the reason for the opening of a real fire on the Su-Z0M2 was indeed the Su-35 air cannon that was not blocked on the ground. According to a Kommersant source familiar with the situation, its ammunition of 250 shells is usually not removed during the exercises. Thus, it is possible to reduce the "reverse" procedure of preparing the vehicle for combat duty. But representatives of technical services forgot to open the electric contactor of the additional fuse of the gun and pull the projectile tape out of the breech for some reason. Major Saveliev, according to the interlocutor of Kommersant, really hurried to open fire on a conditional enemy, knowing full well that in a real battle he would not have time to fulfill all the conditions of the REL. However, by his actions, he only aggravated the consequences of mistakes made back on earth.
Interestingly, the military prosecutor's office of the Tver garrison, which supported the prosecution against the pilot at the trial in the garrison court, eventually agreed with the position of Vasily Savelyev and his representatives. At the very first meeting, the state prosecutor stated that he did not consider the investigation to be complete and sufficient for sentencing, and asked to return the materials of the criminal case to his department to eliminate gaps. Given the complexity and social significance of the criminal case, he was transferred for further investigation to the central office of the military investigation, by which the pilot was acquitted.
