MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti)-The Russian Defense Ministry released a report Thursday severely criticizing the Air Force and Air Defense Forces over the crash of a military jet in Lithuania in September.
The ministry said serious flaws in the work of officials in organizing the Su-27 Flanker's flight were to blame for the incident. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov issued a warning to the commander and deputy commander of the 6th Air Army, which flew the plane. Other officials have been disciplined.
The aircraft was flying from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave within the European Union, when it crashed September 15 on Lithuanian territory after a navigation system failure. The pilot, Major Valery Troyanov, managed to eject safely, and no one was injured in the incident.
