Why do Russian planes and helicopters crash and submarines sink?
There have been a series of tragedies in the past few weeks. First two Mi-24 combat helicopters crashed while landing during tactical exercises in the Far East and the Pacific Fleet, killing eight officers. Then a K-159 nuclear submarine sank off Kildin Island in the Barents Sea while en route to be scrapped, leaving nine submariners dead. And lastly, a heavy strategic Tu-160 bomber, called the White Swan in Russia and Blackjack in the West, crashed outside Saratov while making a flight after one of its four engines had been replaced.
