A Russian passenger aircraft carrying 49 people crashed on Thursday in Russia’s far eastern region near the border with China, killing everyone on board, media reports have said citing officials.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft midway through its flight, and minutes later, rescuers located parts of the burning fuselage. Preliminary analysis have suggested that pilot error during landing in poor visibility may have caused the crash in the town of Tynda in the Amur region.
The local emergencies ministry said the Antonov An-24 aircraft, operated by the Siberia-based Angara airline, vanished from radar while attempting a second landing after an initial approach to Tynda airport was unsuccessful. The aircraft was from the Soviet era and was nearly 50 years old, and its tail number showed it was built in 1976.
Video, reportedly of the crash, filmed from a helicopter and shared on social media, appeared to show the plane wreckage in a densely forested area.
Regional governor Vasily Orlov has been quoted saying that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers on board, including five children, along with six crew members. “All necessary forces and resources have been deployed to search for the plane,” Orlov wrote on Telegram.
However, the country’s emergencies ministry offered a slightly lower estimate, saying about 40 people were believed to be on board.
Authorities announced an investigation into the crash.
In September last year, a Robinson R66 helicopter with three people on board went missing in the same Amur region during an unregistered flight. The region is approximately 6,600km east of Moscow.
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