Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin Unsurprisingly On Plane That Crashed In Russia

Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky (AP)

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is listed to be among the 10 passengers on board a plane that crashed just north of Moscow, Russia, according to a Russian state media statement reported by CNN. Officials say an investigation has been launched into what brought down the Embraer aircraft in the Tver region northeast of Moscow on Wednesday.

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All 10 people on board, including three crew members are believed to be dead. State media reportedly says the plane “burned up” on impact after being in the air for about an hour and a half.”

This happened just months after Prigozhin and his Wagner group led a short-lived attempted coup against Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.

“An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred tonight in the Tver region,” the department reportedly said. “According to the list of passengers, among them is the name and surname Yevgeny Prigozhin.”

CNN says flight data showed the Embraer Legacy, which was registered to Prigozhin, at a cruising altitude on its way to St. Petersberg over the Tver region after departing from a Moscow airport. That, of course, was before data transmission of speed and altitude stopped at 6:11 p.m. local time.

Curiously, the data doesn’t show a steep descent before the plane stopped transmitting data. I’m no expert, but that would imply something happened to the data in mid-air, rather than on the ground.

This is a developing story, and Jalopnik will update with more information as it becomes available.