Russia’s Aeroflot Now Flying Planes Without Brakes

It brings me no joy to say this, but it’s only a matter of time until Aeroflot has a major accident…

Aeroflot deactivates brakes on nine aircraft

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to all kinds of sanctions against the country, and that includes in aviation. These sanctions have impacted the ability of airlines like Aeroflot to get maintenance and new parts for their aircraft. For example, Aeroflot has been sending its jets to Iran for maintenance, given that the country has dealt with similar sanctions for years.

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Here’s the latest update in this saga, as reported by The Moscow Times. Aeroflot has now deactivated brakes on nine of its aircraft. Specifically, some of the carrier’s Airbus and Boeing jets have worn-out brakes, but the airline isn’t able to replace them, due to sanctions that are in place.

As a result, the airline has made the decision to keep flying these planes, but just without brakes. There are currently nine planes with these issues, including five Boeing 777s, one Airbus A330, two Airbus A321s, and one Airbus A320.

In situations where there’s a malfunction, it’s possible for airlines to defer this kind of maintenance for up to 10 days. However, in this case it appears to be a long term solution for the airline, and the airline tells pilots to just use reverse thrusters to slow down planes.

Aeroflot’s flight operations department has warned pilots of the risk of veering off the runway. As it explains in the memo, “the aircraft will tend to turn to the side, so pay attention to this fact, especially when landing on a wet runway with a crosswind.” The memo goes on to warn of “the risk of overrunning the runway!!!” (yes, with all those exclamation points). Reassuring, eh?

This is terrible, but also not surprising

One of the reasons that aviation is so safe is because the industry as a whole uses best practices, and errs on the side of caution. While airlines cut costs in all kinds of ways, safety isn’t one of them. It goes without saying that what’s happening in Russia right now doesn’t represent best practices, and sooner or later this will have consequences.

In fairness, Russian airlines are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. There’s travel demand, and these airlines primarily have foreign-built aircraft. Not only can Russian airlines no longer acquire these planes, but they can’t even maintain them anymore. While Russia is trying to expand its domestic aircraft production, that isn’t going to happen overnight.

So we’re seeing Aeroflot cut corner after corner, ranging from outsourcing maintenance to Iran, to telling employees to not report safety issues. By comparison, Aeroflot’s astronomical mileage devaluation seems downright minor. 😉

Bottom line

Aeroflot is having major issues maintaining its fleet, due to sanctions for Airbus and Boeing aircraft and parts. At this point, the carrier’s fleet is no longer in working order. Rather than just shutting down, though, Aeroflot is ignoring obvious safety concerns. In the latest example, Aeroflot has deactivated the brakes on some of its planes, and just warns pilots of the risk of veering off of or overrunning the runway.

What do you make of Aeroflot flying planes without brakes?