In Magadan, during an attempt to take off, An-2 private plane made a hard landing. All 14 people on board (12 passengers and two crew members) independently left the aircraft and were taken to hospital. Initially, the regional department of the Ministry of Emergencies reported seven victims of the accident, but later these data were adjusted downward.
“Nine out of 14 people aboard the An-2 plane, which made a hard landing this morning at Magadan-13 airport, were released home after being examined in the Magadan Regional Hospital. Five people were hospitalized with moderate injuries characteristic of a fall from a height, ”the Emergencies Ministry press service said.
In turn, the head of the Ministry of Health of the region Sergey Chekanov said that five hospitalized patients were diagnosed with compression fractures of the spine.
“Twelve people were examined, five were hospitalized with compression fractures of the spine, five more were sent home for outpatient treatment, and two were examined. The condition of the victims is moderate, ”he said.
“Initially, the condition of one of the victims was assessed as serious, but after a full examination, the degree of injury was not confirmed and is characterized as average. The necessary treatment is provided to the victim in the neurosurgical department of the Magadan Regional Hospital, ”Chekanov added.
The incident occurred on Thursday, February 20, at the Magadan-13 airfield, located in the northern part of the city. The regional government said that after breaking away from the runway, the An-2 managed to gain a small height, and then went down.
“After breaking away from the runway and climbing about 10 meters, he stopped taking off and made a rough landing, partially destroying the fuselage and the wing planes,” a representative of the regional administration said.
The landing itself, according to the Investigative Committee, occurred outside the runway. It is reported that the plane making the charter flight was supposed to deliver shift workers to the village of Seymchan, Magadan Region.
About 50 people and 15 pieces of equipment took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident. Firefighters shed an aircraft to prevent fire.
- © EMERCOM of Russia
Criminal Case Launched
On the fact of a hard landing, the Far Eastern Investigation Department for Transport of the IC of Russia opened a criminal case under part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code (“Violation of the safety rules for the operation and movement of the aircraft”). So far, the investigation has put forward two main versions of what has happened: a technical malfunction and a human factor.
“In the criminal case, an investigative and operational group of investigators and forensic investigators has been created, which is conducting urgent investigative actions. The investigation is currently considering two main versions of what happened: a technical malfunction of the aircraft and violation of piloting rules, ”the agency’s website says.
A check was also announced at the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office. The agency intends to assess the legality of using the aircraft itself, compliance with technical maintenance requirements and pilot qualifications. In addition, the prosecutor's office announced their intention to check the work of government departments.
“The completeness and effectiveness of the exercise of authority by officials of the state aviation supervision and transport security supervision department of the Rostransnadzor for the Far Eastern Federal District, the North-East Interregional Territorial Air Transport Administration of the Federal Air Transport Agency for flight safety will be analyzed,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Owned by a mining company
The prosecutor's office said that the plane made a hard landing belongs to the company T-Cement LLC. According to data from open sources, this is a mining enterprise whose main activity is the extraction of gold, silver and platinum group metals.
An-2 type aircraft were produced from 1947 to 1992 in the USSR and Russia, and they are still being assembled in China. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the only aircraft manufactured over 70 years. In total, over 18 thousand copies of various modifications were produced. The one that made a hard landing in Magadan was built in 1985 at the PZL-Mielec factory in Poland.
According to the calculations of the Aviation Safety Network portal, during the entire operation of the An-2, aircraft of this type crashed 679 times, killing 789 people. According to the Civil Aviation Research Institute, for 2017 in Russia there were 227 aircraft of this model. The Chaplygin Siberian Research Institute of Aviation in the same year estimated that 90% of the tasks of small aviation continue to be carried out by An-2 aircraft.