In a heartbreaking incident, a Russian passenger plane carrying almost 50 people crashed in the eastern part of the country while attempting to land, and it seems there are no survivors, according to reports from Russian state media on Thursday.
Local emergency services have located wreckage of the An-24 aircraft near Tynda, a small town in the Amur region near the border with China. This Soviet-era plane was reportedly carrying at least 40 passengers (including two children) and a crew of six, and initial evaluations suggest that unfortunately, everyone on board has perished.
This An-24 turboprop, flying for around 50 years, had been certified for airworthiness in 2021, which would keep it operational until 2036. Despite having faced two low-profile incidents since 2018, the airline claimed it conducted all necessary checks before the tragic crash.
The aircraft, operated by Angara, a Siberian airline, vanished from radar earlier on Thursday just as it was making a second landing attempt at Tynda Airport, having taken off from Khabarovsk near the border with China.
Rescue teams quickly made their way to the area. However, challenging terrain, including swamps and forests, hampered their efforts. Officials reported that a rescue helicopter had difficulty landing due to the mountainous location of the crash site.
State media shared a video from a helicopter flying over the area, which depicted a large plume of gray smoke rising from a forested section with visible burning debris scattered on the ground.
Delivering insights into the ongoing investigation, authorities are currently looking into two potential causes: a malfunction with the plane or possible human error in the cockpit due to poor visibility at the time of landing.
President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the unfortunate news, and a government commission has been established to delve into this incident.
This crash reflects a broader decline in aviation safety in Russia, a trend exacerbated by the Kremlin’s incursions into Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions which have severely restricted the country from accessing Western aircraft materials.
The ongoing sanctions impact the export of crucial parts and expertise for Russian airlines, pushing domestic maintenance companies to rapidly increase their overhaul services and production capabilities for spare components. As a result, airlines are resorting to smuggling parts from allied nations and stripping components from older planes.
The Russian aviation sector is also grappling with numerous other obstacles, like a reduction in simulation training for new pilots amid sanctions and the necessity to navigate airspace crowded with military drones and national air-defense mechanisms.
This tragedy follows closely behind a serious incident last Christmas when an Azerbaijan Airlines jet was accidentally hit while in Russian airspace, claiming 38 lives and straining relations between Russia and Azerbaijan due to accusations of misidentified targets.
The deadliest commercial airliner disaster in Russia in recent times occurred in 2018, when a Saratov Airlines An-148, departing from Moscow, crashed, resulting in the loss of all 71 aboard, as detailed by the Aviation Safety Network.
In another alarming instance from 2019, an An-24 working with Angara Airlines faced a fatal accident following an engine failure. The pilots lost control which led to a collision with a structure and an ensuing fire, tragically claiming the lives of two crew members and injuring 22 others.
For more details, you can reach Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com and Benjamin Katz at ben.katz@wsj.com
