Zelensky orders to suspend An-26 flights as long as probe into crash under way

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered to suspend flights of aircraft similar to the An-26, which has recently crashed in Kharkiv region.

Deputy head of the President's Office Oleh Tatarov announced this on a Ukrainian TV channel.

Read alsoIdentification of An-26 crash victims to take up to three weeks – local authorities

"The president has given instructions to suspend any flights involving similar aircraft until the causes of the tragedy are known. Both the defense minister and the chief of the General Staff have already begun to fulfill the order," he said.

Tatarov noted that Ukraine would not carry out flights, using such aircraft, until the causes behind the An-26 plane crash near the town of Chuhuiv are established.

"Law enforcement agencies are now stepping up a probe into all defense contracts, and will strengthen control over the investigation of all crimes in the defense sphere related to the purchase of military equipment and its maintenance," he said.

An-26 accident in Chuhuiv: Background

• The military plane crashed by the highway while approaching the Chuhuiv military airfield late on September 25.
• Kharkiv Air Force University's crew and cadets were on board – a total of 27 people.
• Twenty-five people were killed at the crash site, one of the two survivors died in hospital, the other one is undergoing treatment.
• According to the SBU Security Service, the captain reported left engine failure to the tower and requested an approach to land.
• Ukraine's Defense Minister Andriy Taran, citing aviation experts, said one of the sensors in the engine of the An26 transport military aircraft failed, as a result of which the plane's wing caught on the ground as it was approaching the airfield near Chuhuiv before plunging and setting ablaze.
• State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) agents are considering four theories of the An-26 military plane crash in Kharkiv region.
• A cleanup operation at the An-26 crash site was over on September 27. Rescuers were searching for the bodies of the victims, cut the elements of the fuselage and provided psychological assistance to the relatives of the victims. Some 70 workers and 10 units of equipment were involved.
• The An-26 that crashed on September 25 was manufactured in 1977. It had been operated as a training aircraft for the Air Force.