At Least 22 Die in Ukraine Military Plane Crash
Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:38 am
In this TV grab released by Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry, an AN-26 military plane bursts into flames after crashing in the town of Chuguyiv close to Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sept. 25, 2020.
A Ukrainian military plane crashed and burst into flames on Friday evening, killing at least 22 people on board, authorities said.
The aircraft crashed while trying to land at Chuhuiv’s airport in the Kharkiv region, about 400 kilometers east of the capital, Kyiv.
"There were 27 people on the aircraft,” said Oleksii Kucher, Kharkiv region governor. “There were seven officers and 20 military students. We can say for sure now that 22 people died. Two people are in the hospital. And there are three people missing."
One pilot reported failure in one of the plane’s two engines, Kucher said, adding that it should not have been a critical situation for an experienced pilot.
The Antonov An-26 aircraft was conducting training exercises and most of those on board were air force cadets at the Defense Ministry’s Kharkiv Air Force University.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said a state commission is being formed to identify the circumstances and causes of the incident.