{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreiaksqy4mj347gbbm55nkaqvixq6rbgnzsbhjmuc2mxs4t2cuybjha",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:qdzcgmgri7npfs46puqpnnjo/app.bsky.feed.post/3migac57xgsa2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreicomp6yusexttpvgat3k73if2k6zmcmopp4idamyaig4l7ftf7cna"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/webp",
    "size": 32138
  },
  "path": "/news/1987464/russian-military-transport-plane-crashes-in-crimea-killing-29-defence-ministry-says",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-01T06:59:09.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.dawn.com",
  "tags": [
    "World"
  ],
  "textContent": "A Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing 29 people on board, due to a possible technical malfunction, Russia’s defence ministry said early on Wednesday, according to news agencies.\n\n_TASS_ news agency, quoting the ministry, said communication with the aircraft was lost at about 6pm local time (8pm PKT) on Tuesday on a planned flight over Crimea.\n\n“The defence ministry reported that a search team found the site of the catastrophe,” _TASS_ reported. “According to a report from the site, six crew members and 23 passengers on board were killed.”\n\nThe ministry report made no mention of any survivors on the An-26, a light tactical military transport that has for decades been a mainstay that can carry cargo and up to 40 passengers over short and medium distances.\n\n“There was no impact on the aircraft,” _TASS_ quoted the ministry as saying, implying that objects like missiles, drones and birds were not involved.\n\n“The preliminary cause of the crash is a technical malfunction. A commission from the military is working at the site,” it said.\n\nRussia’s defence ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside normal business hours.\n\nThe An-26 has been in service since the late 1960s and has also been used by airlines to carry freight, but the model has been involved in a number of deadly crashes over the last decade.\n\nA Ukrainian An-26 crashed during a technical flight in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region in 2022, killing one person. Another aircraft crashed on a training flight in northeastern Ukraine in 2020, killing all but one of the 27 people on board.\n\nEight people, including five Russians, were killed when an An-26 crashed in South Sudan in 2020. Four of 10 people on board were killed when an An-26 crashed on landing in Ivory Coast in West Africa in 2017.",
  "title": "Russian military transport plane crashes in Crimea, killing 29, defence ministry says"
}