Seven people lost their lives after a military transport plane of the An-22 type crashed on the morning of December 9th on the territory of the Ivanovo region in the Russian Federation. All those on board were crew members, and, according to preliminary information, no one survived the impact.The aircraft crashed in the Furmanovo district, in the north-west of the Ivanovo region. Some sources initially reported that the plane had fallen into the Uvod river, but later operational services confirmed that the crash took place in the area of the Uvod reservoir, where fragments of the aircraft were found on the water surface. Rescue teams and other emergency services continue to intervene at the scene. It is also known that the plane last made contact with the control tower around 11:00, local time.
The An-22 is a heavy transport aircraft with turboprop engines, being the first wide-body aircraft in the world and the largest in its class, according to public sources. It is intended for long-distance transport of heavy and bulky weaponry, military equipment and personnel, as well as for aerial landing.
The plane was designed in the 1960s, and serial production took place between 1966 and 1976, which means that the crashed device could have been at least 49 years old.
