All news

An-2 plane could crash in Kuban because of bad fuel

However, the exact cause of the accident will be established during the investigation and on the results of examinations

KRASNODAR, August 29 (Itar-Tass) — The crash of the Antonov An-2 plane in the Slavyansky district of the Krasnodar Territory could have been caused by low-quality fuel, the Southern Regional Centre of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) told Itar-Tass on Monday.

“According to experts, the accident could have been caused by poor-quality fuel,” the centre said.

However, the exact cause of the accident will be established during the investigation and on the results of examinations.

The An-2 crashed at about 09:00 Moscow time on Sunday, 50 kilometres southwest of Krasnodar. According to eyewitnesses, the plane that was spraying fields caught fire in the air while flying over the Neschadimovsky village in the Slavyansky district. The pilot managed to steer the burning plane away from the farm.

The pilot – head of the unit No. 3 of the JSC Kuban Agro-Industrial Complex Anton Martynov – has been killed, his partner Nikolai Tabolin is in intensive care at the local hospital with severe injuries.

As it turned out the An-2 plane of the Feniks (Phoenix) company was making an unauthorised flight. According to the Southern Territorial Administration of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), the documents for the plane were not registered in the prescribed manner.

A commission of the Federal Agency for Transport Supervision (Rostransnadzor) has launched an investigation on the results of which measures will be taken against persons responsible for the air accident.