The Angara Airlines An-24 passenger aircraft, en route from Khabarovsk via Blagoveshchensk to Tynda, tragically lost contact earlier today. Its wreckage, indicating the plane was destroyed and burning, has been located approximately 15 kilometers from Tynda. A total of 43 passengers and six crew members were on board the flight.
The An-24 aircraft crashed in the Amur Region, with preliminary reports indicating that all 49 individuals on board have perished. This includes 43 passengers, among them five children, and six crew members. In response to the tragedy, the governor has declared three days of mourning throughout the Amur Region.
Rescue teams have successfully reached the crash site. Viktor Dreger, an aviation rescuer, informed TASS that the ill-fated aircraft was attempting to land amidst challenging conditions, characterized by ten-point cloud cover and a mountainous surrounding.
The debris, identified by a Rosaviatsia helicopter, was discovered on a mountainside, 15 kilometers from Tynda.
Yesterday, a storm swept through certain areas of the Amur Region, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency in Belogorsk, a town not far from Blagoveshchensk, the plane`s departure point. Local authorities report that Belogorsk is currently without electricity and has very limited communication due to the hurricane-force winds that ripped the roof off one building. Anna Krasnobayeva, editor of Amur.life, currently in Blagoveshchensk, shared her insights with Business FM:
“Last night, there was what meteorologists called a squall, but it impacted other areas—Belogorsk, Svobodny. Tynda was completely unaffected; in Tynda today, they say it rained until noon, and since noon, heavy cloud cover has persisted. This An-24 aircraft was scheduled to depart from us at 9:10 AM but actually took off at 11:21 AM, so it was delayed flying from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda. We don`t have any official versions yet; no one has announced anything. We know it initiated a go-around, but then vanished from radar.”
“Was this storm unusual?”
“It`s been worse; there have been tornadoes. This was a localized phenomenon, not even registered by the weather station in Belogorsk itself, where the state of emergency was declared. It passed through the outskirts very selectively. Preliminary wind speeds there reached 90 kilometers per hour.”
“So meteorologists didn`t even know what was happening in Belogorsk?”
“No, weather stations didn`t record it.”
Eyewitness footage has surfaced online, showing the plane flying extremely low as it performed a go-around before attempting to land. Communication with the aircraft was lost shortly after it initiated this second approach. What could have led to this? Business FM discussed the possibilities with Andrei Litvinov, a Russian pilot and Airbus A320 commander for Aeroflot:
“Information is still limited. The weather was indeed poor. During a go-around, they could very well have hit a hill or anything else. Anything could have happened.”
“If they initiated a go-around, does that imply they had communication with air traffic control?”
“If they went around, they should have informed the controller. And if they hit something during the approach, it`s quite possible they deviated from the landing trajectory due to bad weather. Such incidents have occurred before.”
“We spoke with journalists from the Amur region; they mentioned a storm, but it was in Belogorsk, closer to Blagoveshchensk, and reportedly affected only the periphery. It supposedly wasn`t in Tynda, though there was rain until noon and heavy cloud cover. Could this significantly impair visibility?”
“Yes, possibly, if the weather is severe. We need to determine if there was a technical malfunction, perhaps an engine failure; we don`t know yet. The aircraft had recently undergone technical maintenance in Blagoveshchensk, I believe, and departed with a two-hour delay.”
“Is it technically possible to not notice a hill in such poor visibility?”
“If visibility is poor and they deviated from the approach path, then yes. Because the equipment of the An-24 is not on par with Boeing and Airbus. On the An-24, everything still relies on indicators and pointers, similar to how our great-grandfathers flew. Its navigation accuracy isn`t comparable to that of Boeing and Airbus.”
“Recently, footage emerged showing the plane making a very low go-around – is this a common occurrence?”
“Performing a go-around is permissible, even after touching the runway; it`s not prohibited. The key aspect is if it was approaching at minimums and went around, meaning it reached the minimum altitude and couldn`t see the runway. In such cases, the captain is obligated to go around. This decision depends on the captain`s and the airfield`s specific minimums.”
The crashed An-24 aircraft was 50 years old. In 2018, it sustained wing damage during post-landing taxiing at Bodaibo Airport in the Irkutsk region. Rusline airline, its operator at the time, attributed that incident to snow on the runway.
The An-24 belonged to Angara Airlines, a key carrier for domestic routes in Eastern Siberia, based at Irkutsk International Airport. Angara, a division of the Eastland tourism holding, was established on the foundation of Irkutsk Aircraft Repair Plant No. 403. According to its website, the airline also provides aircraft maintenance and repair services to third-party clients.
The last inspection of Angara Airlines by Rosstransnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Transport) was conducted in July of this year. Following the discovery of the fuselage, authorities in the Amur region announced that the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations has opened a hotline for inquiries. A criminal case has been initiated under the article concerning the violation of air safety rules for the operation of air transport.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth