Fiery Military Plane Crash in Ukraine Leaves Only 1 Survivor
Searchers combing the area where a Ukrainian military aircraft crashed found two more bodies on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26. One person survived.
The plane, a twin-turboprop Antonov-26 belonging to the Ukrainian air force, was carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets of a military aviation school when it crashed and burst into flames on Friday night while coming in for landing at the airport in Chuhuiv, about 250 miles east of the capital Kiev.
Two people initially survived the crash, but one later died in a hospital. No cause for the crash has been determined.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared Saturday to be a day of mourning for the crash victims and ordered flights of Antonov-26 planes halted pending investigation into the cause of the crash.
Zelenskiy, who visited the crash area on Saturday, called for a full assessment of the condition of the country’s military equipment. Prime Minister Denis Shygal called for an official report on the crash by Oct. 25.
“Yesterday we lost young cadets and experienced military men, who had their whole lives and, I am sure, more than one military feat ahead of them,” Zelenskiy said in a statement released by his office. “The whole country will mourn today with their families.”
Deputy Defense Minister Igor Starobinksy said the families of the dead would each be paid compensation of about 1,500,000 hryvna ($56,000).
The Antonov-26 is a transport plane used by both military and civilian operators. Defense Minister Andrei Taran said the plane that crashed was built in 1977.
An Antonov-26 chartered by a contractor for the World Food Program crashed on Aug. 22 while taking off from Juba in South Sudan, killing seven people.
The crash was the second large air disaster to afflict Ukraine this year. In January, a Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines was shot down shortly after takeoff from the airport in Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 people aboard.
The plane was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards amid high tensions after the United States killed a top general in a drone strike.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
