Moscow airport
A former Moscow airport executive was found hanged on his balcony suggesting foul play. (Photo for illustration purposes only.) Pexels/Ksenia I

A former executive who managed the Moscow airport terminal that serviced Yevgeny Prigozhin's private jet before its fatal 2023 crash has been found dead at his home, nearly three years after the Wagner Group founder was killed in one of Russia's most closely scrutinised aviation disasters.

Alexey Korshenko, 57, the former director of the business aviation terminal at Sheremetyevo Airport, was found hanged on the balcony of his Moscow apartment on 6 June. Russian investigators are treating his death as a suspected suicide.

Former colleagues told Russian media that Korshenko had been dismissed from his position around three weeks before his death, although no reason for his departure has been made public.

Authorities have not suggested any connection between his death and the 2023 plane crash. However, his position at the airport has prompted renewed media attention because of the terminal's role in preparing Prigozhin's aircraft before its final flight.

Role at Sheremetyevo Airport

Korshenko helped establish Sheremetyevo Airport's business aviation terminal when it opened in 2011 and later oversaw operations at the facility, which handles private aircraft arriving in and departing from Moscow.

Prigozhin's Embraer Legacy 600 was serviced at the terminal before departing on 23 August 2023. The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off in Russia's Tver region, killing all 10 people on board, including Prigozhin and several senior Wagner commanders.

Prigozhin led the Wagner mercenary group before staging a short-lived mutiny against Russia's military leadership in June 2023. The rebellion ended after negotiations brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and he died two months later when his aircraft crashed while travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg.

The Moscow Times, citing the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, reported that Korshenko's position may have given him knowledge of maintenance work carried out before the aircraft's departure. There is no public evidence that he was implicated in the investigation or questioned by authorities in connection with the crash.

Claims Surrounding the Aircraft

The report said technicians allegedly identified two mechanical faults during pre-flight inspections, including a problem involving a turbo-cooler unit that required replacement.

It said an imported replacement component was found to be defective before another unit was supplied by a Russian company. The report alleged the replacement component may have concealed an explosive device, although the claim has not been independently verified.

It also reported that transport security officials who arrived at the terminal after the crash were allegedly denied access to security camera footage, inspection equipment and maintenance documentation.

According to the report, officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) later seized the aircraft's inspection report. Those claims have not been independently confirmed.

Official Investigation and Alternative Theories

Russia's Investigative Committee concluded that the aircraft crashed after hand grenades allegedly detonated on board, rejecting suggestions that an external explosive device brought down the jet.

That conclusion has been disputed by Western governments and independent analysts. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Russian and Western intelligence sources believed the aircraft had been deliberately destroyed and alleged that the operation had been approved by former Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in Prigozhin's death.

Russian police have opened a preliminary inquiry into Korshenko's death and are treating it as a suspected suicide.

No criminal case has been announced, and authorities have not indicated that his death is connected to the crash of Prigozhin's aircraft.

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