MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. An L-39 trainer aircraft has crashed at an airfield in the Krasnodar Region in southern Russia, killing one crew member, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"An L-39 training aircraft of an aviation training regiment crashed on August 14, 2023 during a scheduled training flight in the Krasnodar Region during a landing approach. The airplane went down within the airfield’s limits. There was no damage or casualties on the ground. According to preliminary reports from the scene, one of the crew members was killed," the ministry said.

The cause of the crash is being established, according to the ministry.

The L-39 Albatros aircraft was developed in Czechoslovakia. It made its first flight in 1968, and was chosen as the main training aircraft of the Warsaw Treaty Organization member countries in 1972. It remains the main trainer jet for cadets at Russian flight schools to this day.