Senior Russian general dies in Crimea plane crash
A senior Russian air force commander has been confirmed dead following a military transport aircraft crash in Russian-controlled Crimea last week.
The officer, Alexander Otroshchenko, who commanded the 45th Army of the Northern Fleet’s Air Force and Air Defence unit, was among approximately 30 people killed in the crash, officials said, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The aircraft, an An-26 military transport plane, went down after reportedly striking a cliff on March 31. Russia’s Defence Ministry previously said the preliminary cause of the accident was a technical malfunction.
The An-26 model has been in service since the late 1960s and is widely used for transport duties. However, it has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over the past decade across different countries.
The aircraft type has a long operational history in both military and civilian aviation, but concerns over aging airframes and maintenance issues have frequently been raised following past incidents.
Authorities have not released full details about the circumstances of the crash, and investigations are still ongoing. The incident is one of the deadliest reported military aviation accidents in the region in recent years.
The crash highlights ongoing risks associated with older Soviet-era aircraft still in active service within parts of the Russian military aviation fleet, particularly during periods of heightened operational strain.
News.Az
By Aysel Mammadzada
