Both crew members operating the SU-34 fighter-bomber are said to have ejected and survived

A Russian SU-34 medium-range fighter-bomber crashed during a training flight in the country's Nizhny Novgorod Region on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported. Both the pilot and the navigator who operated the twin-seat aircraft are understood to have ejected and are reportedly alive.

According to the ministry's statement quoted by Russian media, "during landing, the release system of one of the landing gear legs failed." The pilot made several attempts at fixing the issue while in flight, before deciding to abandon the aircraft.

The crew proceeded to divert the warplane away from populated areas and ejected, Russian military officials said, noting that the SU-34 was not carrying any ordnance. The incident reportedly resulted in no casualties or damage on the ground.

"A rescue team has been flown to the crash site to evacuate the crew to their home air base. According to the information from the site, both members are alive," the ministry stated.

In early April, a Russian Tu-22M long-range strategic bomber crashed in Irkutsk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the four crew managed to eject, but the pilot did not survive the landing. Military officials named a technical failure as the suspected cause of the crash.

Several weeks before, a Russian SU-25 fighter jet was lost during a training flight in far-eastern Primorsky Region. The pilot ejected and was evacuated to safety.

(RT.com)