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IN BRIEF: What we know about training plane crash in Orenburg Region

According to preliminary data, two university students and an instructor were aboard the plane

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Three people died as a plane on a training flight crashed near Orsk in the Orenburg Region, the local rescue services told TASS.

The accident was confirmed by the Russian emergencies ministry.

TASS has collected key facts about the crash.

Circumstances of the accident

A plane making a training flight crashed near Orsk.

The accident was reported at 12:51 p.m. local time (7:51 a.m. GMT).

The Diamond DA aircraft belonged to the St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation.

According to preliminary data, two university students and an instructor were aboard the plane, the press service of the region’s governor and government said.

According to the Russian emergencies ministry, the plane crashed near the village of Dhanatalap.

There was no fire after the impact.

Casualties

According to preliminary data, all those who were aboard the plane died, the press service of the region’s governor and government said.

Three people died in the crash of a training aircraft in the Orenburg Region, the Russian emergencies ministry confirmed.

Response and probe

A probe into the crash was initiated by the Central Interregional Transport Investigations Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Rescue operations continue at the crash site. Those killed are being identified.

The Orenburg Region’s authorities will offer assistance to the families of those killed.

Orenburg Region governor Yevgeny Solntsev and the regional government expressed condolences to the families of those killed.

Head of Russia’s Civil Aviation Agency (Rosaviatsiya) Dmitry Yadov and rector of the St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation Yury Mikhalchevsky are heading to the crash site.

The accident has been categorized as an air crash, the Rosaviatsiya press service said.

The accident will be investigated by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) in coordination with Rosaviatsiya’s Volga territorial directorate.

The Central Interregional Transport Investigations Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under part 3, article 263 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of air safety rules by a person, who by virtue of their work or position, is obliged to comply with these rules, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence).

Investigators are considering several theories of the crash, including pilot error and aircraft malfunction, the Russian Investigative Committee said on its Max channel.