An-24 Plane Crashes Near Tynda, Russia: 48 Feared Dead

An Antonov An-24 operated by Angara Airlines crashed on a mountainside approximately 15 kilometers from Tynda Airport in Russia’s Amur region, near the Chinese border. The plane, carrying 43 passengers—including five children—and six crew members, was on a domestic flight from Khabarovsk to Blagoveshchensk and then to Tynda.

It vanished from radar during a second landing attempt in poor visibility, marked by low clouds and rain, after failing to check in with air traffic control. A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage in dense forest, but no survivors have been confirmed, with Russian emergency services reporting all 48 onboard are presumed dead.

Ground search teams are navigating the rugged terrain to reach the site, as the helicopter could not land. Preliminary investigations point to pilot error during the landing attempt as a possible cause, with technical failure also under consideration, though no specific mechanical issues were reported prior to the crash.

The Russian transport investigative committee is examining flight data and cockpit voice recorders to determine the exact cause. Footage shared by state media, including RT, shows the wreckage engulfed in smoke and flames amidst dense woodland.

This marks the second incident involving an Angara Airlines An-24 in two months. On May 26, 2025, another An-24, aged 51 years, suffered a front landing gear collapse during landing at Kirensk Airport in Irkutsk, causing it to overrun the runway. No fatalities were reported in that incident. The An-24, a Soviet-era twin turboprop designed in the 1950s, is widely used in remote Russian regions but has a history of accidents, including a 2011 Angara Airlines An-24 crash in the Ob River (7 deaths) and a 2019 crash in Nizhneangarsk (2 deaths) due to engine failure.