The Russian authorities have revealed that a Russian military cargo plane which was on training flight crashed on Friday in Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, killing four people and injuring five others.
The Russian Defence Ministry, in a statement, indicated that the aircraft developed an engine malfunction while on a training flight without cargo, making the crew decide to make an emergency landing. The ministry noted that the aircraft was partially destroyed when it hit the ground. The aircraft was said to have caused a fire outbreak when it crash-landed. The authorities, however, said that the fire has since been extinguished.
The Crisi Unit of the Regional Government was cited to have declared in a statement: “According to preliminary information, four people died as a result of a plane crash in the area of the Mikhailovsky highway in the city of Ryazan.”
The aircraft was identified as a Il-76 military transport plane, first manufactured in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s.