State media previously announced that there were seven people on the plane.
“On December 9, 2025, during a test flight, the An-22 plane crashed near the village of Ivankovo in the Ivanovo region. All the crew members of the plane died,” the investigative committee said in a statement.
After receiving a report about the accident, search teams were sent to the field and an investigation was opened. Ivanovo Oblast is located about 200 kilometers east of Moscow. There are no indications that the incident is linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine or any allegations of Kiev’s involvement.
The incident is believed to be caused by a technical fault with the plane, which has been in service for more than 50 years, business daily Kommersant later reported, citing anonymous sources. The Russian state news agency TASS writes that the plane was carrying out a scheduled flight after repairs and that it crashed near a reservoir. The wreckage of the plane was found in the water.
#Breaking: The world’s last surviving Antonov An-22, also, the world’s largest turboprop engined transport aircraft, crashed in #Russia today. This historic aircraft crashed near the Uvodskoye Reservoir in the Ivanovo Region during a test flight following repairs. The accident… pic.twitter.com/VoRHlOAkHS
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) December 9, 2025
Accidents involving military transport and equipment have become more common in Russia during the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, which has led to increased military movements and activities in the country. An-22 is designed for transporting heavy and large military equipment and forces over long distances, as well as for airborne operations.
It was developed in 1965 in Kiev. It is the largest transport aircraft with turboprops in the world. It can also carry up to 290 soldiers, 206 wounded or 150 paratroopers. The maximum permitted load is 60 tons. A total of 66 such planes were built.
(Vijesti.ba)
