According to preliminary data, the An-26 military aircraft, which crashed on the evening of September 25 near the town of Chuguev in the Kharkov region, could catch its wing on the ground.

This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran.

According to him, the preliminary analysis gives reason to believe that, most likely, the plane caught its wing on the ground.

“The flight recorder is now in the plane, after analyzing the information it will be possible to draw conclusions from it,” Taran said.

Let us remind you that the An-26 plane crashed in the Kharkov region on the evening of September 25.

According to the office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the crash occurred during the landing approach.

"According to preliminary data, at about 20:50 near the city of Chuguev, during the landing approach, the plane lost control and fell near the road," the message says. 

On board, in addition to the crew members, were cadets of the Kharkiv Air Force University of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Kozhedub.

Initially, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as well as the head of the regional state administration, Oleksiy Kucher, reported that there were 28 people on the plane at the time of the crash - seven officers and 21 cadets. 

To gallery page

Later, the State Service for Emergency Situations of Ukraine clarified that there were 27 people on board, one cadet was not allowed to fly.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, 25 people died in the crash.

Later, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service reported that one of the two surviving cadets had died in hospital.

Thus, the death toll increased to 26.

A few hours after the crash, the governor of the Kharkiv region Aleksey Kucher said that, according to available data, the pilot of the crashed An-26 reported a failure of the left engine of the plane.

“There was a notification from the pilot that the left engine failed, as I understand it.

What happened later is also unclear, it will be established by the investigation, ”he said.

On the fact of the disaster, a criminal case was initiated on "violation of the rules of flights and preparation for them, which entailed a disaster and grave consequences."

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced yesterday that he urgently created a government commission to clarify all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy.

He also announced his intention to come to the Kharkov region on September 26 in connection with the An-26 crash.

Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko said on his Facebook that Defense Minister Andriy Taran gave a brief press briefing at the scene of the tragedy.

As follows from the published data, the pilot of the crashed plane before the crash told the dispatcher about his readiness to land the An-26 after reporting a problem with the engine.

“At about 20:38 the commander of the ship reported to the dispatcher about problems with the left engine.

However, he was generally calm and was preparing to land the plane on one engine, as provided by the technical regulations.

The visibility was clear.

The wind is minimal.

After 8-9 minutes, the commander of the ship told the dispatcher that he was ready to land.

A minute or two later, the plane disappeared from the radar, crashed to the ground and caught fire, ”wrote Gerashchenko.

The head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran said that on the day of the crash, the plane made six flights and five successful landings.

The plane itself was produced in 1977.

September 26 is declared a day of mourning in Ukraine in connection with the An-26 disaster.

The corresponding decree was signed on Saturday by the country's President Vladimir Zelensky.

“In connection with the tragedy that occurred as a result of the crash of the An-26 military aircraft during scheduled training flights on September 25, 2020 near the city of Chuguev, Kharkiv region and which led to the death of servicemen of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in order to commemorate the victims, I decide: to announce in Ukraine September 26, 2020 is a day of mourning, ”the document says.

Condolences in connection with the tragedy to the families of the victims were expressed by Russian pilots and cadets of the Air Force Academy.

N. Zhukovsky and Y. Gagarin.

“We are deeply shocked by the tragedy that claimed the lives of cadets and pilots of the Ukrainian An-26 aircraft near Kharkov.

In love with the sky, they empathize with each loss of colleagues as their own.

The sky does not divide anyone into friends and foes, ”the Russian military noted.