Russian An-26 Military Transport Crashes in Crimea, Killing 29

Russian – (Web Desk) – A Russian military plane has crashed into a cliff in Crimea. All 29 people on board were killed. Russia says a technical fault is most likely to blame.

The aircraft was an Antonov An-26. It is an old Soviet built transport plane that has been flying since the late 1960s. The plane lost contact with ground control at around 6 in the evening local time on Tuesday. It was on a routine flight over the peninsula when something went wrong.

Search teams reached the crash site and confirmed the worst. There were no survivors. Six crew members and 23 passengers all lost their lives.

Russian authorities were clear on one thing. The plane was not shot down. No missile, drone or any other object struck the aircraft before it went down. Early findings point to a mechanical problem as the cause.

A military investigation team is now working at the scene.

Crimea sits along the Black Sea coast. It is covered with steep mountains and rugged terrain. Russia took control of the peninsula from Ukraine back in 2014.

Sadly this is not the first time an An-26 has been involved in a deadly crash. The aircraft has a troubled safety record over the past decade or so.

In 2020 a Ukrainian An-26 went down during a training flight in northeastern Ukraine. Only one person survived out of 27 on board. That same year another An-26 crashed in South Sudan killing eight people including five Russians.

In 2017 four people died when one of these planes crashed while landing in Ivory Coast. Then in 2022 another Ukrainian An-26 came down in the Zaporizhzhia region killing one person.

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The An-26 has served militaries and cargo airlines for decades. But Tuesday’s crash is another painful reminder that this aging aircraft continues to carry a heavy human cost.