“The plane crashed on landing. In addition to the crew, cadets from the Kharkov University of the Ukrainian Air Force were on board. There are dead and injured on the spot, “confirmed the command of the Ukrainian Air Force.
According to the TASS agency, there were a total of 27 people on board – military pilots and cadets. Two survivors suffered very serious injuries and were taken to hospital.
The machine crashed during a landing maneuver and began to burn after hitting the ground. “Apparently (the pilot) confused the path with the runway,” a source told Interfax. However, according to the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleksiya Kucher, the cause of the accident was an engine failure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the accident on Facebook a “terrible tragedy”. He ordered the creation of a government commission of inquiry. He will arrive at the scene of the accident in person on Saturday.
The An-26 is a military transport aircraft developed by the Soviet design office Antonov. There is also a modification for the An-26-100 passenger with a capacity of up to 43 people.
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