The last Antonov An-22 aircraft in the Russian army's equipment has crashed. All on board died
Antonov An-22 plane Photo: Dreamstime
The Antonov An-22 military transport plane crashed around 12:00 local time on Tuesday in the Ivanovo region, about 300 kilometers from Moscow, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. According to Kommersant daily, the aircraft was more than 50 years old, and the main hypothesis is a technical fault.
The plane that crashed was the last model An-22 in use, the rest being recorded on the ground in 2024.
Witnesses quoted by Kommersant said that the plane began to merge in the air, and fragments of the fuselage ended up in the reservoir of the Uvodskoye reservoir near the town of Ivankovo.
The seven people on board, two pilots and five crew members, died on impact. No casualties or property damage were reported on board.
Sources cited by Kommersant say the flight was due to a routine overhaul and the aircraft had been in service for more than 50 years and that it most likely crashed due to a technical fault.
The aerospace forces of the Ministry of Defense established a commission to investigate the circumstances of the accident, and military investigative bodies opened a criminal case.
Investigators are to examine the crash site and collect documents relating to the operation and repair of the aircraft, as well as fuel samples, which will be sent for analysis.
