On 23 August 2023, an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet crashed near Kuzhenkino in Tver Oblast, approximately north of its departure point in Moscow. Among the ten victims were Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, and Valery Chekalov, the key figures of the Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company. The crash prompted speculation that the jet was destroyed on the orders of Russian president Vladimir Putin, after Prigozhin had led the Wagner Group rebellion two months prior.
Tracking data from Flightradar24 showed unusual altitude variations followed by a "dramatic descent" shortly before the plane crashed. Visual evidence suggested structural failure of the aircraft. Western intelligence reported that an explosion likely caused the airplane to crash.
The aircraft, manufactured by Brazilian company Embraer, had been associated with Prigozhin since 2018. It was barred from the United States due to sanctions imposed on Prigozhin after his involvement in the Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.
While official Russian sources downplayed the crash, some intelligence agencies and international leaders suggested it was a politically motivated assassination. Prigozhin's previous criticism of the Russian Defense Ministry and open rebellion against Russian state forces were cited as potential motivations for foul play. The deaths of Prigozhin, Utkin, and Chekalov are among several sudden deaths of Russian officials since 2022 considered suspicious.
Background
The Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, had played an important role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin was a close confidant of Russia's president Vladimir Putin. He began openly criticizing the Russian Defense Ministry for mishandling the war effort, eventually saying their reasons for the invasion were lies. On 23 June 2023, he led the Wagner Group in a one-day rebellion against the Russian Defense Ministry, which was resolved through negotiations that allowed Prigozhin to evade punishment. Some believed that this immunity would not last long, with analysts subsequently regarding him as a "dead man walking". On the day of the crash, Prigozhin was reported to have just returned from a trip to Africa. A posthumously released video of Prigozhin believed to have been filmed days before his death showed him acknowledging threats to his life.
Aircraft
The Embraer Legacy 600 involved in the crash was produced in 2007 by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. It was originally registered in Slovenia as S5-ALS and then changed operators several times. The aircraft became associated with Prigozhin in 2018 when it was acquired by Autolex Transport of the Seychelles and registered in the Isle of Man as M-SAAN. It was reported sold to the Wagner group in September 2020 and transferred to the Russian aircraft register with the tail number RA-02795. The aircraft was barred from entering the United States as part of sanctions, also covering Autolex, imposed by the US Treasury Department on Prigozhin in September 2019 following his participation in Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections. The airplane was also believed to have carried Prigozhin to Belarus following the Wagner Group rebellion.
The aircraft identification codes listed by the US Treasury matched those of the crashed aircraft, with the tail number RA-02795, as listed in the Russian aircraft registry. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency stated that the aircraft was owned by MNT-Aero LLC, a corporate transportation firm.
When asked regarding the condition of the airplane, Embraer said it had not provided support services for the jet since 2019, citing compliance with sanctions. The crash was the second incident involving a Legacy 600, following a 2006 mid-air collision with Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 in Brazil, during which the Legacy was damaged but was able to land safely without a casualty, while the commercial airliner crashed, killing all 154 people aboard. That particular incident was later attributed to human and communications errors. There is no record of any Legacy 600, of which about 300 were built before production stopped in 2020, suffering an accident due to mechanical failure.