Russian military plane crashes in Crimea, all 29 on board killed, malfunction suspected

A Russian military plane crashed in Crimea on Wednesday, killing all 29 people on board, Russian news agencies reported. The aircraft, an An-26 military transport plane , was carrying six crew members and 23 passengers when it went down.

The plane was on a scheduled flight over the Crimean peninsula , a region that Russia took control of from Ukraine in 2014 , though most of the world still considers it part of Ukraine. Contact with the aircraft was lost around 6 pm on Tuesday.

Russian authorities said the crash was likely caused by a technical malfunction , and there was no indication of “damaging interference” with the aircraft. According to state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti , the plane crashed into a cliff.

The An-26 is a Soviet-era transport plane , first flown in 1969. Most of these aircraft are over 40 years old and still used by Russia for cargo and troop transport, making technical malfunctions more likely.

Local sources described a scene of devastation, with debris scattered along the cliffside. Russian officials are conducting an investigation and working to recover the bodies of the victims.

The crash marks one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in the region in recent years, raising concerns over the safety and maintenance of older aircraft still in operational service.