Moscow, 01 April (H.S.):

A Russian An‑26 military transport aircraft has crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, according to Russia’s defence ministry and state media reports. The victims include six crew members and 23 passengers, with no survivors reported from the incident.

Crash Details and Loss of Contact

The An‑26, a light tactical military transport plane, lost contact with air‑traffic authorities at around 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) on March 31 during a scheduled flight over the Crimean peninsula. Search and rescue teams later located the wreckage at the crash site in the hilly terrain of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia’s defence ministry said that the aircraft had gone down after colliding with a cliff, and that there was no evidence of hostile fire or impact from missiles, drones or birds.

Possible Cause: Technical Malfunction

The ministry described the preliminary cause of the crash as a technical malfunction, although a formal investigation is still underway. A military commission has been deployed to the site to examine the black‑box recorders, wreckage and flight‑plan data to determine the exact sequence of events.

The An‑26, a Soviet‑era aircraft produced by Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov, has been in service for decades and is widely used by Russian forces to carry cargo and up to about 40 passengers over short and medium distances.

Despite its long operational history, the type has been involved in several serious accidents in recent years, prompting scrutiny over maintenance and ageing fleets.

Context in Crimea

The crash occurred over the Crimean peninsula, a strategically sensitive region on the Black Sea that has been under Russian control since 2014 and remains a flashpoint in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The incident has once again highlighted the risks associated with military aviation in a region where air operations are frequent and airspace conditions can be challenging.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar