The Ukrainian State Investigations Bureau has started investigating the military plane crash that has killed 26 people in Kharkiv Oblast, identifying possible reasons for the disaster.
The accident happened when an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft, being on a training flight, landed and took fire in Chuhuiv, a town some 450 kilometers east of Kyiv, late on Sept. 25.
Now, the investigators are considering several possibilities for the crash: a technical malfunction of the aircraft, improper performance by the crew, improper performance by ground control, improper maintenance of the aircraft and poor preparation for the flight.
To investigate the accident, a special commission, which consists of law enforcement, officials, and experts, has been formed.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Oleh Urusky, the investigators haven’t extracted the black boxes from the plane yet — they will be examined after all the bodies are removed from the scene.
The Kyiv-based Antonov manufacturer issued a statement on Sept. 26 saying that the plane was built in 1977 and had undergone two overhauls since then. The last one was in 1996.
Just less than a month ago in August 2020, Antonov’s experts examined the plane and concluded it could serve until the next maintenance work planned for July 2022. One of its engines could be exploited until October of this year, the other one — until June 2021.
While speaking to the press at the crash scene on Sept. 26, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he now wants to obtain information on the composition and technical condition of all military equipment exploited in Ukraine. He has also ordered a halt to all flights in similar planes until the investigation establishes the cause of the crash.
Day of Mourning
The An-26 aircraft carried students of the Kharkiv Aviation University of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to Zelensky, there was a total of 27 people on board: 20 air cadets and the seven-member crew. The students were young men: from sophomores to final-year university students.
Twenty-five people were killed instantly at the scene of the crash. Two people survived, but one later died in hospital.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has found all the victims’ bodies at the scene. However, according to Urusky, they are impossible to identify, which is why DNA testing will have to be performed. It will take two-three weeks for the results to come back, and only then the victims will be buried, Urusky said.
According to the Interior Ministry, the photograph features the students of the Kharkiv Aviation University of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were on board the Antonov An-26 transport aircraft that crashed on Sept. 25 in Kharkiv Oblast and killed 26 people.
To honor the memory of the victims, Zelensky declared Sept. 26 a day of mourning.
“The whole country will be in mourning today with their (victims’) families,” Zelensky wrote on Facebook.
The president said that the state has to pay for the survivor’s treatment, as well as to provide compensation for the families of those who died.
The only survivor is 20-year-old Viacheslav Zolochevsky. According to Zelensky, Zolochevsky woke up near the burning aircraft after the crash and helped to extinguish the fire on the other cadet who was hospitalized.
Although Zolochevsky has serious injuries, including a concussion and numerous bruises, his condition is stable. He might be able to leave the hospital in the near future, Eduard Khoroshun, the head of the Kharkiv Military Hospital, told the press on Sept. 26.
