A Fatal Fire on Admiral Kuznetsov

The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is having some problems in the Med, and we are only getting partial details...

The fire, lasting about two hours, was caused by a short circuit in the ship's wiring and the sailor died from smoke inhalation late on Tuesday, RIA news agency reported.

The accident occurred while the ship was docked in the Turkish port of Aksaz Karagac. It will stay in Turkey until Jan. 8 before continuing maneuvers in the region, RIA reported.

On Jan. 2, the Greek Defense Ministry said the carrier was due to carry out a series of military exercises near the islands of Rhodes and Crete from Jan. 3-11.

First, it is a tragedy anytime a sailor dies fighting fire on his ship. This is the second incident recently where Russian sailors have apparently died in accidents involving breathing equipment.

The first time it is a problem, the second time it is a pattern.

Some Russian news sources are suggesting a cargo aircraft (helicopter) caught fire on the flight deck during flight operations, and the sailor died while fighting the fire. According to the Russian news, the accident occurred during training exercises with Greece, and the aircraft carrier pulled into port in Turkey following the accident. It is unclear if the exercises will continue, or are continuing with other Russian naval vessels.

The pattern for Russian Navy stories lately has been that the information flow starts slow and is generally confusing early, and my read is the news is only 3-4 hours old. I expect some early reporting to be inaccurate before building momentum towards a clear picture of what happened.

In time, we'll know more.