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AI-10 plane crash kills two, including officer of Strizhi aerobatics team

Тhe plane crashed over a sharp gust of wind
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, June 9 (Itar-Tass) - A pilot, who flew an AI-10 ultralight plane that crashed in the Moscow region on Sunday, was a retired officer of Russia’s famed Strizhi aerobatics team, a source in the law enforcement bodies told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

“Retired Lt. Col. Sergei Vasilyev, 43, who flew the plane, was the deputy commander of Strizhi aerobatics team. Another person onboard was Valery Bugayev, 48. According to the preliminary information, he was a helicopter pilot,” the source said.

The Moscow region emergencies department said the plane crashed over a sharp gust of wind.

AI-10 made a training flight. Struck by a sharp gust of wind the plane got into a spin, crashed and burnt down, the source said.

The plane crashed near the village of Pyatnitsa, the Solnechnogorsk district.

There were two men onboard. Their strongly burnt bodies were found near the plane.

AI-10 is a single engine, two-seat plane. It is designed to be used at unpaved airfields.

Characteristics of the plane allow it to make training, tourist and demo flights.