jmig
November 1st, 2009, 04:39
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian heavy-lift military cargo plane crashed on takeoff Sunday in Siberia (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Siberia), killing all 11 crewmembers on board, officials said.
The crash was the second in less than a month to involve an Il-76, the mainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since the 1970s. These and a string of other accidents have raised concerns about the condition of Russia's aging fleet of Soviet-built aircraft.
The cause of Sunday's crash was not yet known. The four-engine plane had just taken off from Mirny in the Sakha Republic (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Sakha+Republic) when it tilted to the right and was unable to gain altitude, said Vasily Panchenkov, a spokesman for the Interior Troops, which were flying the aircraft.
The plane hit a slag heap from an old mine and crashed, exploding on impact, he said. The plane, which was headed to Irkutsk (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Irkutsk), was carrying no cargo but its fuel tanks were full.
The Il-76 crashed about a mile from the runway in open fields. No one on the ground was reported hurt.
The bodies of all 11 crewmembers were recovered, Panchenkov said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-11-01-russia-crash_N.htm
The crash was the second in less than a month to involve an Il-76, the mainstay of the Soviet and Russian air force since the 1970s. These and a string of other accidents have raised concerns about the condition of Russia's aging fleet of Soviet-built aircraft.
The cause of Sunday's crash was not yet known. The four-engine plane had just taken off from Mirny in the Sakha Republic (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Sakha+Republic) when it tilted to the right and was unable to gain altitude, said Vasily Panchenkov, a spokesman for the Interior Troops, which were flying the aircraft.
The plane hit a slag heap from an old mine and crashed, exploding on impact, he said. The plane, which was headed to Irkutsk (http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Irkutsk), was carrying no cargo but its fuel tanks were full.
The Il-76 crashed about a mile from the runway in open fields. No one on the ground was reported hurt.
The bodies of all 11 crewmembers were recovered, Panchenkov said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-11-01-russia-crash_N.htm