Russian military transport plane breaks apart mid-air: Seven killed in Ivanovo

MOSCOW, El Sky News – The international aviation community has been shocked by a horrific crash involving a Russian heavy military transport aircraft, the Antonov An-22 ‘Antei’, which reportedly crashed near the Uvod reservoir in the Ivanovo region yesterday.

The tragedy, which occurred northeast of Moscow, claimed the lives of all seven crew members and passengers on board.

Video footage shared by the open-source intelligence (OSINT) community, Supernova+, shows the harrowing moments the giant Soviet-era aircraft suffered a severe structural failure, causing it to appear as if it broke in two before plummeting to the ground.

The aircraft, registered as RF-08832, was understood to be undergoing a post-maintenance test flight at the time of the incident.

According to preliminary reports, a mechanical failure leading to major structural damage was detected while the plane was in the region’s airspace, causing the pilot to lose complete control.

“Search and rescue (SAR) teams were deployed to the crash site immediately after the report was received. Unfortunately, no survivors were reported in the incident,” stated a release quoted from international news agencies.

The Antonov An-22 is among the largest turboprop aircraft in the world still in active service with the Russian Ministry of Defense. The loss of this asset is a significant blow to Russian military logistics, given the very limited number of functioning aircraft of this model remaining.

A special investigative committee has been established to determine whether the structural failure was caused by technical issues during maintenance or metal fatigue, considering the advanced age of the aircraft.

The area surrounding the Uvod reservoir is currently under tight security to allow authorities to collect wreckage and locate the black box for further investigation.

(Leakim Otid)