A Russian army aircraft crash in annexed Crimea has killed six crew and 23 passengers, Russian information companies reported within the early hours of Wednesday, citing the Protection Ministry.
The An-26 army transport aircraft was finishing up a scheduled flight over the Crimean Peninsula, the reviews stated. The army misplaced contact with the aircraft round 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
The Soviet-designed army transport turboprop plane crashed right into a cliff, sources on the scene advised state information companies Tass and RIA Novosti.
Russia’s Investigative Committee stated a complete of seven crew members and 23 passengers had been on board. It wasn’t instantly clear from official statements if one crew member has survived.
The Investigative Committee stated it has launched a legal probe in reference to flight rules and a search is underway in a mountainous forested space within the Bakhchisarai district.
The Interfax information company cited the Protection Ministry as saying a suspected technical malfunction could have brought on the crash and that there was no “damaging interference” with the plane.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since administered it as Russian.
Earlier Russian army aircraft crashes
Accidents involving Russian army planes have been frequent because the Kremlin despatched troops into Ukraine in 2022.
In December, an An-22 army transport aircraft crashed in Russia’s Ivanovo area, killing seven crew. In October, a MiG-31 fighter jet crashed within the Lipetsk area, whereas a Tu-22M3 bomber crashed within the Siberian area of Irkutsk in April 2025.
In March 2024, a Russian army transport aircraft with 15 folks on board crashed whereas taking off from an air base in western Russia. That crash got here simply weeks after the identical sort of aircraft went down close to the Ukrainian border.
In January 2024, Russia stated Ukraine had downed an Il-76 — carrying Ukrainian prisoners of warfare — close to the nations’ shared border. A U.S. official advised CBS Information on the time that there have been no speedy indications {that a} missile fired from Ukraine had struck the aircraft, and that it remained unclear whether or not there have been Ukrainians on board the plane.
In October 2022, a Su-34 bomber crashed right into a residential space of Yeysk, a Russian metropolis on the Azov sea, sparking a large hearth and killing 15 folks.
