TASS, November 3. The An-12 aircraft of Grodno Airlines that crashed in the Irkutsk Region had been in service since 1968, aviation services reported on Wednesday.
"The plane had been operating since 1968 - over 53 years. It was manufactured by the Tashkent Mechanical Plant. The aircraft was in the Soviet Air Force, then from Russian Air Force it was transferred to Air Armenia, then Asia Airways and finally to Grodno Airlines," the agency’s interlocutor said.
The aircraft was employed as a cargo carrier.
The An-12 aircraft of Grodno Airlines transporting food products disappeared from the radar at 14:45 Moscow time while making its landing approach 7 km from Irkutsk in the area of the settlement of Pivovarikha. The plane was later discovered near the settlement of Pivovarikha not far from the aerodrome. Upon hitting the ground, the plane caught fire. Only crew members were aboard the plane, everyone was killed.