Russian military plane crashes in Crimea, 29 killed

A Russian An-26 military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, in what authorities believe was likely caused by a technical malfunction, according to Russia’s defence ministry.

State news agency TASS reported that communication with the aircraft was lost at around 6:00 pm local time on Tuesday during a scheduled flight over Crimea.

The peninsula, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, is known for its mountainous terrain along the Black Sea coast.

Rescue teams later located the crash site, where officials confirmed the deaths of six crew members and 23 passengers. No survivors were reported.

The defence ministry stated there was no external impact on the aircraft, ruling out possibilities such as missiles, drones, or bird strikes. Preliminary findings suggest a technical failure as the cause of the crash, with a military commission investigating the incident.

The Antonov An-26, a light tactical transport plane introduced in the late 1960s, has long been used for short- and medium-range missions, carrying cargo and up to 40 passengers.

The model has been involved in several fatal accidents in recent years. In 2022, a Ukrainian An-26 crashed in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing one person.

A 2020 training flight crash in northeastern Ukraine claimed 26 lives, while separate incidents in South Sudan (2020) and Ivory Coast (2017) also resulted in multiple fatalities.