An-26 crash / Photo from UNIAN

Head of the Second Department of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Ukraine Vadym Pryimachok has said several commanders were served with charge papers in the case on an An-26 plane crash in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, on September 25.

"To date, we have handed a written notice of suspicion over to an aircraft controller of the A4104 military unit who was in charge of flights on that day, a commander of the said military unit who approved the planned flight schedules with violations, as well as an Air Force commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who committed negligence that led to the tragedy," he said during an online briefing on Friday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoAn-26 crash: Special commission points to violations in preparations, flight performanceIt is known Serhiy Drozdov serves as Air Force Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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An-26 crash: Background

  • On September 26, an An-26 military plane crashed by the highway while approaching the Chuhuiv military airfield.
  • Kharkiv-based Air Force University's crew and cadets were on board – a total of 27 people. Twenty-five were killed at the crash site and one of the two survivors later died in hospital. Thus, only one person survived in the crash.
  • According to the SBU Security Service, the plane's captain reported left engine failure to the tower and requested an approach to land shortly before the crash.
  • Ukraine's Defense Minister Andriy Taran, citing aviation experts, said one of the sensors in the engine of the An-26 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.
  • On October 28, a government commission named the causes behind the incident. The main ones are the lack of effective control over the organization and performance of flights by Kharkiv university officials and systemic violations of the flight rules.
  • The An-26 that crashed on September 25 was manufactured in 1977. It had been operated as a training aircraft for the Air Force.