EDITOR'S NOTE

This page is no longer active.

We regret any inconvenience.

More about our terms
Back to Forbes
BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here
Edit Story

Death Toll Climbs To 26 In Ukrainian Military Plane Crash

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Sep 26, 2020, 10:22am EDT

Topline

The death toll rose to 26 Saturday from a Ukrainian military aircraft crash that left only one survivor and prompted a call for a full assessment of the country’s military equipment, according to media reports.

Key Facts

Searchers combing the area of the crash, 250 miles east of the capital Kyiv, found two more bodies Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26, according to the Associated Press.

The plane, a twin-turboprop Antonov-26 belonging to the Ukrainian air force, was carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets from a military aviation school when it crashed and burst into flames Friday night while coming in for landing at the airport in Chuhuiv, AP said.

Two people initially survived the crash, but one later died in a hospital; no cause for the crash was announced.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared Saturday to be a day of mourning for the crash victims and ordered that flights of An-26 planes be halted pending investigation into the cause of the crash, AP said.

Zelenskiy, who visited the crash area Saturday, called for the equipment review and Prime Minister Denis Shygal called for an official report on the crash by Oct. 25.

Key Background

The cadets were aboard an An-26, transport plane used by both military and civilian operators. Defense Minister Andrei Taran said the plane that crashed was built in 1977, according to AP. The crash was the second large air disaster to afflict Ukraine this year. In January, a Boeing 737 belonging to Ukraine International Airlines was shot down shortly after takeoff from the airport in Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 people aboard. The plane was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards amid high tensions after the United States killed a top general in a drone strike.


Tangent

This week Republican Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, released a long-awaited report on the impact of Hunter Biden, son of Democratic Presidential contender Joe Biden, serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The report determined that the board post was "awkward" and "problematic" for his father, who was then vice president, but the study does not show that it influenced U.S. government policy, according to NPR. An impeachment trial against President Trump was connected in part to his attempts to pressure Ukraine's leader to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden in a bid to hurt his father, Trump’s political rival.


Further Reading

Ukraine plane crash death toll rises to 26, with 1 survivor (Associated Press)

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my websiteSend me a secure tip