Overview
- The twin‑engine An-26 transport lost contact Tuesday around 6 p.m. Moscow time during a scheduled flight over Crimea, and rescuers later found the wreck with no survivors.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry reported no signs of an external strike on the airframe, pointing investigators toward a likely technical malfunction.
- Agency reports from TASS and RIA Novosti said the aircraft struck a cliff or rocks at the crash site on the annexed peninsula.
- Officials confirmed 29 dead, listing six crew members and 23 passengers, and opened an inquiry to piece together the final minutes before contact was lost.
- The crash renews scrutiny of the aging An-26 fleet, a Soviet-era transport still in service after past incidents including a 2020 training crash in Ukraine and damage to An-26s in 2025.