All 49 passengers and crew members aboard an Angara Airlines flight died Thursday, July 24, when their Soviet-era aircraft crashed in Russia’s remote Amur region while attempting to land at Tynda airport.
The Antonov An-24 passenger plane disappeared from radar around 1 p.m. local time as it approached its destination of Tynda, a remote town in the Amur region bordering China. The aircraft was on a regional route from Khabarovsk to Blagoveshchensk and Tynda when contact was lost with air traffic controllers.
Search and rescue helicopters located the burning wreckage on a mountainside approximately 10 miles from Tynda airport. The Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed that rescue crews spotted the aircraft’s fuselage in flames among dense forest terrain.
Regional Governor Vasily Orlov confirmed the death toll, stating that all 42 passengers, including five children, and six crew members perished in the crash. Orlov declared three days of mourning in the Amur region and described the incident as a “terrible tragedy.”
The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office indicated the aircraft was attempting to land for the second time when it crashed, having failed to complete its initial approach. Weather conditions at the time were reportedly suitable for flying, according to emergency services, and the crew had not issued any distress calls before losing contact.
The nearly 50-year-old aircraft was manufactured in 1976 and had previously been operated by Soviet flag carrier Aeroflot before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian authorities launched a criminal investigation into suspected violations of air traffic and transport rules resulting in multiple deaths through negligence. The Interstate Aviation Committee also opened a probe into the crash, while the federal government established a special commission comprising federal and regional officials to handle the aftermath.
President Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident, according to Kremlin officials. The crash site’s remote location in swampy forest terrain with no access roads complicated rescue efforts, requiring more than 100 rescue personnel to use heavy machinery to cut a path to reach the wreckage.
The An-24 aircraft model is known for its ruggedness and ability to operate from unpaved runways, making it well-suited for harsh conditions in Siberia and Russia’s far east. These propeller-driven planes are nicknamed “flying tractors” by some and are considered reliable workhorses in the Russian aviation industry due to their ability to operate in sub-zero conditions.
Angara Airlines, based in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, operates 10 An-24 aircraft built between 1972 and 1976, according to aviation databases. The airline serves airports throughout Siberia and Russia’s Far East regions. The crashed aircraft had experienced at least two technical malfunctions since 2022, including a generator failure in May 2022 and radio communication problems in March 2025.
Aviation incidents have become increasingly frequent in Russia, particularly as international sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict have impacted the country’s aviation sector. Western sanctions have limited access to vital spare parts and affected investment in aircraft maintenance, while dozens of foreign jets have been seized.
Regional airlines have struggled to replace aging Soviet-era aircraft with modern alternatives. In 2023, representatives from several regional airlines, including Angara, appealed to the Russian government for extensions of the An-24’s service life, citing difficulties in finding replacement aircraft due to sanctions.
Many An-24 aircraft were scheduled for retirement in the coming years, but regional carriers are attempting to keep them operational until replacements become available. Mass production of the new Ladoga aircraft, designed as the same class as the An-24, is not expected to begin until 2027 at the earliest.
This marks Russia’s first fatal passenger aviation incident since July 2021, when an Antonov An-26 crashed near Palana in Kamchatka, killing all 28 people aboard. A separate An-26 transport plane crash in September 2021 in Russia’s far east killed six additional people.
Flying in Russia’s isolated regions, including the Arctic and far east, presents particular challenges due to frequently extreme weather conditions and remote locations. While Russian aviation safety standards have improved in recent years, accidents involving aging aircraft in far-flung regions remain common.
Emergency services established a hotline for families of those aboard the aircraft and others affected by the crash. The Amur region ordered flags lowered to half-mast during the three-day mourning period declared by regional authorities.