MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Russia’s new Il-112V military transport plane plunged into a tailspin before its deadly crash in the Moscow Region on August 17 because its propeller feathering system had failed, a source in defense circles told TASS on Wednesday.
"After the plane’s engine burst into flames, the right-side motor’s propeller feathering system failed, causing a negative drag and spinning the plane, after which it plunged into a tailspin," the source said.
An active propeller feathering system could have allowed the plane to make a landing since the burning engine would have shut down, he explained.
"The plane was strictly following the flight path of its approach for a landing at the Kubinka airfield amid the front wind," the authorities said.
As the source specified, 42 seconds had passed since the engine caught fire and the plane crashed into the ground. "The plane burnt for 30 seconds in the air," the source noted.
A source said earlier on Wednesday that an engine stall, its disintegration and engine elements getting into the fuel system and causing the fire could have been the culprit behind the new Il-112V plane crash.
The emergency services earlier specified that the fire in the plane’s second (right-side) engine might have been caused by engine oil getting into the combustion chamber.
On August 17, an Il-112V military transport plane crashed during its training flight. The disaster occurred just 1.5 km from the runway of the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow. The crew of three, including flight commander, merited test pilot and Hero of Russia Nikolai Kuimov, died. A criminal case has been opened on charges of violating flight safety and aircraft operation rules (part 3, article 263 of Russia’s Criminal Code).
The Il-112V is the first military transport plane developed in Russia from scratch in the post-Soviet period. Work on the plane’s development has been in progress since 2014 at the Ilyushin Aircraft Company (part of the United Aircraft Corporation within the Rostec corporation).
The Il-112V is designed to carry up to 5 tonnes of cargo and transport personnel, military hardware and armaments. Russia is working on the aircraft to replace An-26 and An-24 turbo-prop planes.