Ilyushin IL-112V prototype catches fire and plummets into the ground during test flight

On 17 August, an Ilyushin IL-112V prototype military transporter (registered 41400) caught fire during a test flight, the aircraft subsequently lost control and crashed into a forest near Kubinka Airfield, Russia. 

Website Jacdec writes that none of the three pilots/passengers survived the crash. 

On video clips that appeared on social media, the aircraft is flying at low altitude with its right wing on fire, before making a steep turn and crashing into the ground. 

United Aircraft Corporation is developing and testing the Ilyushin Il-112V as a replacement for the ageing Antonov An-26.

In a statement, state corporation Rostec wrote: “a prototype of Russia’s new Il-112V military transport aircraft has crashed in the Moscow Region during a flight. Rostec creates an internal commission with the involvement of specialists from aircraft research institutes and manufactures to investigate the accident of the Il-112v prototype that crashed today during a training flight in Kubinka, Moscow Region, adding that the aircraft is an experimental one, being at the testing stage.”

United Aircraft Corporation added: “The Il-112V crew commander was the Hero of the Russian Federation, test-pilot Nikolai Kuimov.”

Background

The Il-112V military transport aircraft is designed for the transportation and airborne landing of personnel, weapons, and other cargoes with a maximum weight of 5 tonnes. Il-112V is expected to replace the An-26. The cruising speed of the aircraft is 470 kilometers per hour, while its flight range with a maximum load is 1,200 kilometres.

On 18 January 2018, the first prototype of the IL-112V was shown at the Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Company (VASO). It has two improved Klimov TV7-117ST turboprop engines, with 2,610 kW (3,500 hp) each, each powering six-bladed AV-112 constant-speed reversible pitch propellers. It is fitted with a monolithic, single-piece wing. The aircraft is 25.15 m long, with a height of 8.89 m and a wing span of 27.6 m. (source Wikipedia)