A Russian An-26 military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff in Crimea, resulting in the deaths of all 29 people on board, Russia’s defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday, according to media reports.
The incident occurred during a scheduled flight over the region on Tuesday evening. According to the TASS news agency, communication with the aircraft was lost around 6pm local time (8pm PKT).
Search and rescue teams later located the crash site. Officials reported that the victims included six crew members and 23 passengers, with no indication of any survivors.
The An-26, a light military transport aircraft widely used for decades, is capable of carrying cargo and up to 40 passengers over short to medium distances.
Authorities stated that there was no evidence suggesting external interference, ruling out factors such as missiles, drones, or bird strikes. Preliminary findings point to a technical malfunction as the likely cause of the crash. A military investigation team has been dispatched to examine the incident further.
The Russian defence ministry has not issued additional comments beyond the initial statement.
The An-26 aircraft, which has been in operation since the late 1960s, has been involved in several fatal accidents in recent years. In 2022, a Ukrainian An-26 crashed in the Zaporizhzhia region, causing one death. In 2020, another training flight crash in northeastern Ukraine resulted in 26 fatalities.
That same year, an An-26 crash in South Sudan killed eight people, including five Russians. In 2017, a similar aircraft crashed while landing in Ivory Coast, leaving four out of ten passengers dead.