Four Versions Of Prigozhin's Plane Crash

The most probable experts consider the FSB special operation.

At the moment, experts are considering four most likely versions of the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane, writes the Russian edition of "We Can Explain".

The experts consider the FSB special operation as the most probable and explain why the "Ukrainian trace" is a propaganda fake.

The plane of the PMC head crashed from a height of 8.5 kilometres, according to Flightradar data. The tail plumage was found 3.5 km from the place where the fuselage fell. "We Can Explain" discussed with three military experts the main versions of the crash.

A bomb planted by Russian security services exploded on board. The Shot source claims that the explosive device was planted in the landing gear compartment. And Baza writes that the bomb was in the service compartment.

It was not difficult for the FSB to mine Prigozhin's plane - Israeli military expert David Sharp told "We Can Explain". "They worked inside the country, in their field. They have everything: information, databases, finances, explosives, access to any premises of any airports. Only Prigozhin's personal guards could interfere with the FSB, but they are unlikely to be on duty at all his planes 24 hours a day."

The plane was shot down by an air defence missile system.

This version was mentioned by the Grey Zone channel, which is close to the PMC, and it is also adhered to by Ukrainian military expert, columnist of the Information Resistance group Oleksandr Kovalenko. He pointed out that the video of the plane crash, shot by local residents, shows a second smoke trail - presumably from an anti-aircraft missile.

Roman Svitan, a colonel of the AFU reserve and flight instructor, is sceptical about the air defence version: "If we believe that Putin gave the order to kill Prigozhin, then it is much easier to plant a bomb than to launch missiles from air defence systems. What if someone had filmed the launch? What if they miss and hit a passenger jetliner, given the active air traffic there? What if the operator of the complex then talks, or refuses to fire on a civilian aircraft at all? There is no point in taking such a risk".

The Ukrainian trace is Kyiv's revenge: this is how Russian propagandists, Solovyov, Markov, and Mironov, interpret the incident.

After the mutiny, Prigozhin no longer took part in the war and did not influence its course, experts disagree. "Revenge against him is an insufficient reason for such a complex operation. If Ukrainian saboteurs could sneak into Russian airports and plant bombs in planes, they would have chosen a higher priority target," Sharp notes.

A technical malfunction or pilot error. The IC opened a case under the article on violating the rules of safety and operation of air transport.

However, the pilots did not report technical problems, and there is nothing to explode in the aircraft itself - points out Svitan. "Sudden destruction, wing and tail detachment while flying at altitude without external impact on the aircraft structure - the scenario for such a board is absolutely unrealistic. But they may try to blame the crash on the dead pilots," the expert summarises.