A Russian military prototype plane crashed just outside of Moscow Tuesday, killing the craft’s three crew members.
The prototype was a new light military transport plane, called the Il-112V, and crashed into a wooded area while attempting to land at Kubinka airfield during a test flight, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation told the TASS news agency. The plane’s two pilots and an engineer on board perished in the crash, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation announced, according to The Associated Press (AP).
A prototype of a Russian military aircraft (Ilyushin IL-112V) burst into flames and crashed today during a test flight near Moscow with three people on board.
The crash occurred during the aircraft’s landing approach in a forest near the Kubinka airfield. pic.twitter.com/syXbUQ3gKK
— Cabin Crew Club (@club_cabin) August 17, 2021
Video footage of the crash shows the plane going down into the trees after one of the engines caught fire, Baza online news claimed, according to the AP. Authorities have opened a criminal probe into the prototype crash, which the AP said is typical in the aftermath of these kinds of incidents.
The video captures the tragic crash of a Russian military transport aircraft, a prototype, right before it caught fire midway in the air. https://t.co/u5aklGJ1kn
— IBTimes 🇮🇳 (@ibtimes_india) August 17, 2021
The Il-112V is the first military transport plane designed solely in Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and was scheduled to be unveiled at the Army-2021 forum scheduled for late August, TASS reported. The prototype’s first test flight was back in March 2019, but underwent further alterations after it was reportedly too heavy. After about two years of alterations, test flights resumed in March 2021, the AP noted. (RELATED: Russia Sends Tens Of Thousands Of Troops To Ukraine Border)
The Il-112V can carry up to five tons of cargo and is designed to transport military equipment, personnel, and weapons, the AP reported. The Voronezh Aviation Enterprise is scheduled to start producing the Il-112V in 2023, and the facility is capable of building 12 planes per year.