On 6 March 2018 an
Antonov An-26 transport aircraft crashed on approach to
Khmeimim air base
Khmeimim Air Base (Russian: Хмеймим), also Hmeimim Air Base, is a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. The airbase shares some airfield faciliti ...
in Syria, killing all 39 people on board. All of them were servicemen of the
Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
,
including Major-General Vladimir Yeremeyev.
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was an
Antonov An-26,
registration RF-92955,
msn
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
10107. It had first flown in 1980.
This accident is the fifteenth An-26 fatal crash in this decade with a total of 159 deaths, none of these flights were scheduled passenger airline operations.
Crash
At about 14:00
local time (12:00
UTC) the Russian
Antonov An-26 went down about from the runway.
The preliminary cause was attributed to technical malfunction.
Based on reports from the location, the Russian Ministry of Defense ruled out the possibility that it was shot down. The
Investigative Committee of Russia
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...
and the Russian Military Prosecutor's Office opened criminal cases concerning the crash.
The Islamic militant group
Jaysh al-Islam
)
, successor =
, allies = *
*
*
*
* Free Syrian Army
* Ahrar al-Sham
*al-Rahman Legion (sometimes)
*1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes)
* Al-Nusra Front (formerly)
* Saraya Ahl al-Sham
* Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis
, opponents ...
later claimed the responsibility for the crash; according to ''
Ad-Diyar'', five militants shot at the aircraft with
heavy machine guns when it was 100 m from the ground. It was suggested that the claim might be false, as the group has made opportunistic claims in the past, as have some other groups.
Cause
The aircraft flew on final approach with a tail wind and was caught by windshear on final. It banked, lost height and crashed some 500 metres before the runway threshold.
See also
*
2012 Sudan Antonov An-26 crash
On 19 August 2012, an Antonov An-26 airplane of Alfa Airlines crashed near the town of Talodi, Sudan, killing all 32 occupants on board. The aircraft was carrying a Sudanese government delegation, and among the victims were members of the Sudanes ...
*
2015 Syrian Air Force An-26 crash
On 18 January 2015, an Antonov An-26 operated by the Syrian Air Force crashed with no survivors while attempting to land at the besieged Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib Governorate, Syria. The plane was carrying troops as well as militar ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Air Force Antonov An-26 crash, 2018
Accidents and incidents involving the Antonov An-26
Aviation accidents and incidents in Syria
March 2018 events in Syria
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2018
Latakia Governorate in the Syrian civil war
2018 in the Syrian civil war
Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
Aviation history of Russia
Russian Air Force
2018 disasters in Syria