Technical malfunctions or piloting error: the causes of the An-26 crash in Kamchatka

Kremlin today

On the morning of July 6, communication was lost with the An-26 operating the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky — Palana flight. The wreckage of the plane was found a couple of hours later near the village of Palana, about 4-5 kilometers from the runway. As the Ministry of Emergency Situations later reported, there were 6 crew members and 22 passengers on board the plane, including two children.

At the same time, it was said that all passengers and crew members of the crashed An-26 were killed. The head of Palana, Olga Mohireva, was also on board the plane.

Alexander Surov/TASS

“On the afternoon of July 6, the operational duty shift of the center of the main directorate of the EMERCOM of Russia in the Kamchatka Territory received information that the An-26 aircraft, which was making a passenger flight Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Palana, did not go out for a scheduled communication session at the specified time,” — the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations told RIA Novosti.

Now a search operation is continuing in Kamchatka in the area of the crash of a passenger plane. At the moment, 19 bodies have been found, and some were found more than 15 km from the crash site, which is why the search area will be expanded.

EMERCOM of Russia

The causes of the disaster are still unknown. One version is that the plane could have fallen when entering the second circle. However, on July 7, the commander of the flight detachment of the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise company, Yevgeny Lysenkov, said that the crew did not make a second round approach. 

The second is that there were difficult weather conditions and low visibility in the area of the disaster, so the plane could collide with a hill. 

The governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Vladimir Solodov, in turn, said that he considers it premature to talk about versions of the disaster, because the crew of the aircraft was experienced.

The Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) on Tuesday, July 6, called the first versions of the plane crash-adverse weather conditions, technical malfunctions and piloting error. However, the general director of the aviation enterprise Alexey Khrabrov is sure that the plane was technically serviceable. During the flight, when the board was still in radio contact, the crew did not report any breakdowns and malfunctions, then no emergency signals were received from the aircraft. 

According to the government, financial compensation is provided for the families of the victims: 2 million 25 thousand rubles of insurance payments will be transferred to the relatives of the victims of the plane crash, another 1 million from the airport. Also, in addition to these payments, 500 thousand rubles will be allocated, said the head of the region, Vladimir Solodov. In total, the family of each victim will receive 3 million 525 thousand rubles.

“All passengers and crew were insured,” — said the head of Kamchatka airports, Alexandra Zhuravleva.

Elena Vereshchaka/TASS

In connection with the incident, the governor of the region announced a three-day mourning for the victims of the crash in the region. During this period, state and regional flags will be lowered at half-mast in Kamchatka, all entertainment events and TV shows will be canceled. Residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have been carrying flowers and candles to the wall of the “City of Military Glory” for several days, now a memorial has been formed there.