Wreckage of Missing Plane Found in Russia’s Amur Region, No Survivors Expected

Russian rescue teams have located the wreckage of an Angara Airlines An-24 aircraft, which vanished about 16 km from its destination, Tynda Airport, in the remote Amur region.

The plane, carrying 42 passengers and six crew members, had departed from Blagoveshchensk near the Chinese border before disappearing from radar during its approach to Tynda. Among the passengers were five children, according to Amur Governor Vasily Orlov, who said all resources were deployed for the search operation.

The burning fuselage was spotted by a Russian civil aviation helicopter, and reports suggest no one on board is believed to have survived. Footage from the scene shows the wreckage burning in dense forest. Rescuers said it would take about an hour to reach the site due to difficult terrain.

Officials said the crash may have been caused by pilot error in poor weather or a technical malfunction, though investigations are ongoing.

The nearly 50-year-old Antonov An-24 plane had previously passed a technical inspection but has been linked to four incidents since 2018, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority. Other An-24 planes have a history of serious accidents, including a 2019 crash in Nizhneangarsk, which killed two crew members, and a 2011 crash in Siberia, which left seven passengers dead.