A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in Crimea Peninsula, killing 29 people on board, the Defence Ministry said early on Wednesday. The plane crashed into a cliff due to a possible technical malfunction.
Communication with the aircraft was lost at around 18.00 local time on Tuesday on a planned flight over the peninsula. “The defense ministry reported that a search team found the site of the catastrophe. According to a report from the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed,” state news agency Tass reported.
The ministry reported no external damage to the military aircraft, suggesting that missiles, drones or birds are not suspected of causing the crash.
The Antonov An-26 is a transport aircraft developed during the Soviet period, primarily serving military purposes. It is designed to carry substantial loads of cargo as well as a limited number of personnel across short to medium ranges. Production of the aircraft was carried out by the Ukrainian aviation manufacturer Antonov.
Although the An-26 has been in operation since the late 1960s, its service history has included multiple serious accidents, some of which have resulted in significant loss of life. Wednesday incident was not the first crash involving An-26. The military transport plane earlier crashed during a technical flight in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, killing one person. Another crash involving An-26 aircraft occurred in northeastern Ukraine in 2020, killing all but one of the 27 people, mostly cadet, on board.
Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly demanded Russia’s withdrawal from Crimea as part of the ceasefire aimed to end the four-year-war.
A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed in Crimea Peninsula, killing 29 people on board, the Defence Ministry said early on Wednesday. The plane crashed into a cliff due to a possible technical malfunction.
Communication with the aircraft was lost at around 18.00 local time on Tuesday on a planned flight over the peninsula. “The defense ministry reported that a search team found the site of the catastrophe. According to a report from the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed,” state news agency Tass reported.
The ministry reported no external damage to the military aircraft, suggesting that missiles, drones or birds are not suspected of causing the crash.
The Antonov An-26 is a transport aircraft developed during the Soviet period, primarily serving military purposes. It is designed to carry substantial loads of cargo as well as a limited number of personnel across short to medium ranges. Production of the aircraft was carried out by the Ukrainian aviation manufacturer Antonov.
Although the An-26 has been in operation since the late 1960s, its service history has included multiple serious accidents, some of which have resulted in significant loss of life. Wednesday incident was not the first crash involving An-26. The military transport plane earlier crashed during a technical flight in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, killing one person. Another crash involving An-26 aircraft occurred in northeastern Ukraine in 2020, killing all but one of the 27 people, mostly cadet, on board.
Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly demanded Russia’s withdrawal from Crimea as part of the ceasefire aimed to end the four-year-war.
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