In Russia, there was a risk of cessation of flights Superjet 100 (SSJ100) due to a shortage of US spark plugs used in Russian-French SaM146 engines, RBC reported on Friday, March 17, citing employees of six airlines operating such aircraft. Earlier, similar information appeared in Telegram channels.
According to RBC, the shortage of American candles arose after the cessation of supplies to Russia amid Western sanctionsintroduced due to Russian armed invasion of Ukraine. In a letter from IrAero’s First Deputy General Director Vladimir Panfilov to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on February 16, it is said that part of the Superjet fleet “in the near future” is threatened with a gradual complete cessation of flights. IrAero General Director Yuri Lapin says that at present everything is in order, there are several spare candles, so the intensity of flights is not decreasing. At the same time, he confirmed that there could be problems in the future.
A serious shortage of new spark plugs on the market was also confirmed by Pavel Udod, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Azimut Airlines, and two sources in Yakutia Airlines.
Rostec promises to supply Russian candles
About the threat of exploitation SSJ100 began to report after the departure of the French engine manufacturer SaM146 – Safran from Russia. Replacing engines with domestic PD-8s, including the cost of turbines, is comparable to the residual value of the entire aircraft or will cost even more, admitted Yury Slyusar, head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
Aircraft repairs are not possible due to the high dependence on imported parts. Since the middle of last year in Russia the number of accidents and breakdowns of aircraft has increased, and in January they were publicly reported almost every day.
Rostec promised to start supplying Russian candles as early as 2023.
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