Regional governor Vasily Orlov confirmed that five children were among the deceased, prompting him to announce three days of mourning. The area’s difficult terrain hampered rescue efforts, which took rescuers about an hour to reach the remote location. Preliminary investigations are focusing on potential pilot error due to adverse weather conditions or technical failure.
The An-24 was on the final leg of its journey from Khabarovsk in southeastern Russia, where the crew had made a failed attempt to land in low clouds before losing radar contact during a second approach. Angara Airlines, which operates out of Irkutsk in Siberia, employed a crew from that same region, and some passengers were reported to be employees of Russian Railways working in the far east.
Despite having passed a recent technical inspection, the Antonov 24 aircraft, nearly 50 years old and originally crafted in Kyiv during the Soviet era, has a troubled history with four recorded incidents since 2018. The civil aviation authority revealed its left wing had been damaged in a runway overrun seven years ago, and there have been previous fatal incidents involving An-24 planes. Following a 2011 crash that killed seven, former President Dmitry Medvedev called for the grounding of remaining An-24 aircraft still in operation in Russia.
The An-24 was on the final leg of its journey from Khabarovsk in southeastern Russia, where the crew had made a failed attempt to land in low clouds before losing radar contact during a second approach. Angara Airlines, which operates out of Irkutsk in Siberia, employed a crew from that same region, and some passengers were reported to be employees of Russian Railways working in the far east.
Despite having passed a recent technical inspection, the Antonov 24 aircraft, nearly 50 years old and originally crafted in Kyiv during the Soviet era, has a troubled history with four recorded incidents since 2018. The civil aviation authority revealed its left wing had been damaged in a runway overrun seven years ago, and there have been previous fatal incidents involving An-24 planes. Following a 2011 crash that killed seven, former President Dmitry Medvedev called for the grounding of remaining An-24 aircraft still in operation in Russia.
