A Russian passenger plane carrying 49 people, including children, disappeared from radar Thursday morning and was later found crashed on a mountainside, state media reported.
The Anotov An-24 aircraft, which was nearly 50 years old, was found on the mountain, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Tynda in a remote northern region, emergency services told RIA Novosti.
There were 43 passengers on board including, including 5 children and 6 crew members, Vasily Orlov, the governor of Amur region, said.
The fuselage of the plane, operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines, was spotted during a search mission by a Mi-8 helicopter after the aircraft disappeared from radar.
Remote Siberia Crash Site
“So far, the helicopter with rescuers cannot land in the area of the crash—it is a hard-to-reach area, a mountain slope,” an official told the regional press, according to TASS, the country’s state news agency.
Video shared by Russia’s Federal Air Transport agency appeared to show the crash site.
Video shared by Russia’s Federal Air Transport agency appeared to show the crash site.
An investigation has been launched on the charge of flight safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths, which is a standard procedure in aviation accidents.
The aircraft departed from Blagoveshchensk—a city situated on Russia’s southeastern border with China—and was en route to the northern town of Tynda.
Officials earlier told the Russian Interfax news agency: “The An-24 plane was flying along the Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda route. It failed to pass security checks near its final destination. There is no contact with it.”
‘Flying Tractors’
The plane’s tail number showed it was built in 1976. It was previously operated by Soviet flag carrier Aeroflot before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Antonov An-24 is a twin-turboprop transport aircraft developed by the Soviet Antonov Design Bureau in the late 1950s.
It was designed for both civilian and military use and has been widely operated in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, and parts of Asia.
A stock image of a RusLine An-24 aircraft at Baikal Airport in Ulan-Ude in 2018.
A stock image of a RusLine An-24 aircraft at Baikal Airport in Ulan-Ude in 2018.
Mark Agnor / Sputnik via AP
The plane has the nickname in Russia “flying tractor.” They are regarded as reliable and suited to the extreme weather in Siberia.
The maintenance costs for Antonov planes, many of which are due to be retired from service in the coming years, has increased as a result of Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine that affected investment and access to parts, Reuters reports.
This is a breaking news story—more to follow.