In a heartbreaking incident, Russian authorities have confirmed that all 48 people aboard an Angara Airlines flight tragically lost their lives when an Antonov An-24 plummeted into remote woods approximately 16 kilometers from Tynda airport in the Amur region. Among the deceased were five children, stirring deep sorrow across the community, prompting regional governor Vasily Orlov to announce three days of mourning.
The flight had departed from Blagoveshchensk, near the border with China, and disappeared from radar as it attempted to land at Tynda. Emergency officials reported that a civil aviation helicopter later discovered the aircraft’s burning fuselage on a hillside. Rescuers faced significant challenges due to the remote, swampy terrain, taking around an hour to reach the crash site.
Investigation teams are presently considering pilot error during poor weather or potential technical malfunctions as possible causes of the crash. Weather reports indicate low cloud cover during the incident, which contributed to the aircraft’s unsuccessful first landing attempt. At the time contact was lost, the crew was preparing for another approach.
The aging Antonov An-24, which had nearly 50 years of service and was manufactured in Kyiv during the Soviet era, had previously gained notoriety for its involvement in several incidents since 2018, including one that damaged its left wing after overrunning a runway. Despite passing a recent technical inspection, the safety record of the aircraft type continues to raise questions about the future of older planes in Russia's skies.
Historically, An-24 models have been associated with crashes, including a deadly incident in 2011 in which another Angara aircraft went down in the Ob river, resulting in seven fatalities. After this event, then-president Dmitry Medvedev had called for grounding all An-24 planes in service in Russia, a precaution that remains a topic of debate following the latest tragedy.
