Harrowing footage of the Russian showing wreckage of the Russian An-24 flight that crashed in the country’s far east region of Amur on Thursday (Jul 24) has surfaced on social media. The short video captures the damaged aircraft engulfed in flames as plumes of smoke emerge in what appears to be a forest. Authorities reported that no survivors were found following a search at the crash site. The plane was carrying 49 people on board and went missing before a rescue helicopter reported spotting its fuselage on a mountainside about 16 kilometres from Tynda.
According to the local emergencies ministry, the Antonov An-24 aircraft, operated by a Siberia-based airline, Angara, dropped off the radar screens some kilometres away from its destination, Tynda, a town bordering China. Reports indicated that the passenger plane disappeared during its second landing attempt after it failed to land at the Tynda airport in its first attempt.
“An Mi-8 helicopter operated by Rosaviatsiya (Russia's civil aviation authority) has spotted the burning fuselage of the aircraft,” Russia's emergencies ministry said, as quoted by Reuters.
The preliminary data has suggested that 43 passengers were on board, including five children, along with six crew members. Authorities said that an investigation has been launched to identify the cause of the tragic incident. Russian news agency TASS reported that the plane crashed due to a crew error amid poor visibility during landing.
Earlier, media reported that the plane went missing as air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft. “The An-24 plane was flying along the Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda route. It failed to pass security checks near its final destination. There is no contact with it,” Interfax reported citing emergency services.
Developed in the 1950s, the Antonov An-24 is widely used in Russia for both cargo and passenger transport with over 1,000 units produced.
