On 25 September, an Antonov An-26 military aircraft (registration currently unknown) crashed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, east of the country. The aircraft with 27 people onboard – including 18 cadets of the Kozhedub Air Force University and 5 crew members – was about to land on an airfield outside the town of Chuhuiv.
Civil defence authorities in Kyiv said that at least 22 onboard have been killed and two badly burned survivors have been hospitalised.
The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military aircraft manufactured near Kyiv between 1969 and 1986 when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union.
UPDATE: The death toll has risen to 26 people. Only one 20-year old cadet survived. He was visited in hospital by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Following footage from the scene appeared on social media and shows the flaming aircraft lying by the side of a road.
An Antonov An-26 has crashed in Chuhuiv, Eastern Ukraine on Friday evening. According to local sources, the plane with cadets of the Kharkiv Air Force University on-board was conducting a training flight before it crashed at about 20:50 local time (1/2) https://t.co/NyrPrU1umO
— Aeronews (@AeronewsGlobal) September 25, 2020
Closer up footage of the crash site
pic.twitter.com/BTLn4hYnlG— Intel Air & Sea (@air_intel) September 25, 2020
Stills from the video taken after the crash of an Antonov An-26 in Eastern Ukraine this evening. Sources say the plane carrying cadets of the Kharkiv Air Force University was conducting a training flight before it crashed at about 20:50 LT. Video: https://t.co/V1L7GPlSVF (1/2) pic.twitter.com/GabKv1RyVq
— Aeronews (@AeronewsGlobal) September 25, 2020
An-26 plane has crashed in #Ukraine as it was about to land at an airfield outside the town of #Chuguevhttps://t.co/clUFzpM3OL pic.twitter.com/LiyCNh6lOF
— RT (@RT_com) September 25, 2020
