Russia tried stretching the service life of its aging An-24 planes past 50 years. One just crashed with dozens on board.
The Antonov An-24, a twin-propeller aircraft that seats 43 passengers, disappeared at around 1 pm local time in Russia's Amur region, regional transport officials said in a Telegram statement.
Russian federal air officials said 42 passengers and seven crew members were on board when the plane crashed on approach to an airport at Tynda, a city in Amur.
Regional officials said the plane had failed to touch down once at Tynda and crashed during its second approach.
Flying conditions were suitable for passenger aircraft, and no distress calls had been issued at the time of the crash, state media outlet TASS reported.
It later wrote that a rescue helicopter observing the crash site found no signs of survivors. As of press time, however, the latest update from Russia's emergency ministry said ground rescuers hadn't reached the site due to "difficult mountainous terrain."
The plane, operated by Siberian-headquartered Angara Airlines, was manufactured in 1976, making it 49 years old, according to state media outlet TASS.
TASS reported that in 2021, this particular An-24's airworthiness certificate was extended to 2036, which would have allowed it to fly passenger journeys up to 60 years after its maiden flight.
An open-source Russian plane registry listed the crashed An-24 as entering operations in February of 1976, making it 49 years and five months old.
To compare, major international and US airlines typically phase out aircraft that have been in service for over 35 years.
In January, Angara was also one of two Russian airlines that highlighted a need to extend the service life of its An-24s, saying that Western sanctions had limited access to maintenance workers and spare parts for much of its fleet.
"We are today working in a market in which there are no alternatives to the An-24 and An-26," Angara deputy CEO Sergei Zorin said at the time, per Reuters.
Aviation authorities signed a contract in March to push the aircraft's service life to 60 years.
State media also reported on Thursday that the crashed An-24 had sustained damage and equipment failures at least three times in the past seven years.
Citing Russia's federal air transport agency, TASS reported that the plane had rolled off a runway in 2018 and clipped a lightning pole with its left wing. The aircraft also returned to an airport in 2019 after its generator failed, while one of its radio sets was reported to have malfunctioned on the tarmac in May 2025.
Its approach warning system was also activated once in 2022, per TASS.
Still, the state media outlet reported preliminary findings from emergency services that crew error caused the crash, though it did not specify how authorities arrived at that conclusion.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, said on Thursday that her office would launch a criminal investigation into the crash.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Newsweek
Minefields Over Minecraft—Ukraine's Youth Robbed of Childhood Innocence
Things are getting worse in Ukraine these days. The frontline feels like a giant game of Pac-Man as Russians try to gobble up remote agrarian villages where hardscrabble families eke out a desperate living. Here, for children living in these villages, the horror is unimaginable. Miles of newly dug trenches and "dragon teeth," strings of cable connecting pyramidal cement blocks designed to stop tanks and armored vehicles, create a haunting maze across once-prized and meticulously tilled farmlands between villages and towns. For children, red signs and flagging mark field after field mined by the Russians. We crossed these structures carefully, led by local leaders connecting us with the neediest children and families. With schools closed and classes only online, a Ukrainian girl takes part in arts and crafts, here making hand prints in the blue and yellow colors of the national flag, in a program supported by... With schools closed and classes only online, a Ukrainian girl takes part in arts and crafts, here making hand prints in the blue and yellow colors of the national flag, in a program supported by UNICEF and the Howard Buffett Foundation, on January 22, 2025, in Izium, Ukraine. MoreMy recent trip was my twelfth to Ukraine since the war started in 2022. As a co-founder of the nonprofit Common Man for Ukraine, I've been all over the war-ravaged country, providing food, critical hygiene items, and at the holidays, small toys for children. We also provide residential trauma counseling retreats to children whose fathers have been killed in the war. Our volunteer convoys have crisscrossed Ukraine's vast landscape from Lviv to Kyiv, Odessa to Kherson, and on my recent trip, Kharkiv and 16 small villages at the Russian frontline. I've joined our convoys across more than 20,000 miles on unmarked, abandoned roads, highways and dirt paths, providing food to children living in safe houses and orphanages in western and central Ukraine. I've hugged thousands of children hiding from Russian kidnapping and bombing. These children are secreted away in hidden safe houses where brokenhearted mothers and fathers sent them in hopes that these precious children—Ukraine's progeny—would survive the war. In a brief moment of calm, Common Man for Ukraine Co-Founder Susan Mathison (bottom right) sits with children at a safe house in a frontline Ukrainian village in March 2025, after delivering food, clothes, and... In a brief moment of calm, Common Man for Ukraine Co-Founder Susan Mathison (bottom right) sits with children at a safe house in a frontline Ukrainian village in March 2025, after delivering food, clothes, and Beanie Babies. More Photo Courtesy of Common Man for Ukraine Typical now, as we arrived at a frontline village the air alert sirens blared loudly. Our air alert app indicated ongoing threats. We could hear concussive explosions just beyond the tree line to the east. And yet, quietly, calmly, hundreds of mothers, grandmothers, old men and hundreds of children waited for the food we could deliver to them. Food, hygiene items, and toys for the children. Messages of hope, love, and strength from people they will never know. After most of our food had been delivered, I entered the village's abandoned school. Bright walls were painted with bright flowers that no children see. The soggy floor sagged below the gaping hole in the roof. Shelling? Windows were blown out and a curtain flapped languidly in the breeze. A child's tiny blue plastic airplane rested on a once-perfectly painted windowsill, covered now in broken glass. There was no electricity here. And no teaching. The chalkboards were clean and the chairs pulled neatly to each desk. And, in a corner, a brightly colored booklet caught my eye. A comic book. Simple enough, in Ukrainian, and, ironically now, a USAID logo at the bottom. A partnership between the U.S. government and the Ukrainian children's agency. I flipped through the book. The pictures told the story of these children's terror. I gasped. With this March 2025 humanitarian supply convoy to Ukraine's frontline villages, nonprofit Common Man for Ukraine has delivered more than 4 million pounds of food to the children of war. Their 13th convoy is planned... With this March 2025 humanitarian supply convoy to Ukraine's frontline villages, nonprofit Common Man for Ukraine has delivered more than 4 million pounds of food to the children of war. Their 13th convoy is planned for August. More Photo Courtesy of Common Man for Ukraine Tiny drawings showed the bear with the bomb hidden gently inside the bear's fluffy tummy, ready to kill the child who ignored the warning. Another image showed an unexploded ammunition and mine in a pile of leaves, warning kids not to play. "Among the branches, fallen leaves, and under the snow in Ukraine, it is difficult to notice a strike." What child has not aimlessly kicked up a rustling pile of fun? For Ukrainian children, it might cost them a leg or a life. The comic book that Susan Mathison found on a recent trip to Ukraine. The comic book that Susan Mathison found on a recent trip to Ukraine. Photo Courtesy of Common Man for Ukraine Another page showed red and white triangles, explaining that this means the ground around them is mined. A child running, carefree in an open field of grass? Not in Ukraine, it says. The Russians have mined the fields that once hosted your games and your family's livelihood. Simple drawings, a comic book. For the youngest child to understand. To try to survive. To remember every second of the day. Air alerts. Bombing. Teddy bears with bombs. Fields designed to kill. The terror felt by Ukrainian children. Children who struggle to make sense of the senseless. These children, the ones that survive, the ones that we hope will live in a free and independent Ukraine, will need our help for decades to come. We've begun the work already, delivering thousands of tons of aid, providing trauma counseling, and reminding Ukrainians young and old, that Americans cannot and will not give up on them. Common Man for Ukraine, a nonprofit that is moving mountains in Ukraine, proves that everyday Americans care. We'll return for our thirteenth convoy in August. Every child deserves a comic book with a happy ending. Susan Mathison co-founded the New England-based grassroots nonprofit in 2022, serves as president of her local Habitat for Humanity chapter, and retired after a 30-year career at the USDA Forest Service. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
China's Submarine Rescue Ship Detected Sailing Toward Russia
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Chinese naval vessel designed to rescue submarines in distress was spotted last week while transiting waters near Japan—a key ally of the United States in Northeast Asia—and apparently en route to Russia. The presence of the Chinese submarine rescue ship coincided with Russian naval drills that spanned the Northern Hemisphere, including the Pacific Ocean, from July 23-27. Newsweek has contacted both China's defense and foreign ministries for comment via email. Why It Matters Japan forms part of the first island chain—alongside Taiwan and the Philippines—under a U.S. containment strategy aimed at limiting China's military activities across the Western Pacific. Tokyo routinely reports Chinese aircraft and ships operating near its territory. China, which operates the world's largest navy by hull count, with more than 370 ships and submarines, has been expanding its military presence beyond the first island chain and into the second, formed in part by the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. In June, two Chinese aircraft carriers operated simultaneously in the broader Western Pacific in a sign of Beijing's maturing operations in what it calls the "far seas." What To Know The Joint Staff Office of Japan's Defense Ministry said a Chinese navy Dakai-class submarine rescue vessel with the hull number 841 was observed sailing in the East China Sea on July 24, marking the first time the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force had identified the ship. On Friday, the Chinese naval vessel passed through the Tsushima Strait and entered the Sea of Japan—known as the East Sea in the two Koreas—according to the report. The Sea of Japan borders the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese archipelago and Russia's Far East. The vessel, also known as the Type 927 submarine support ship, is one of three ships of its class built by China, according to Australia-based naval analyst Alex Luck, who writes about Chinese naval developments for the specialist outlet Naval News. "The Chinese Navy has been significantly expanding their submarine salvage capability with two new designs," Luck told Newsweek, referring to the Dakai and Dafeng ship classes. A Chinese Dakai-class submarine rescue vessel transits the East China Sea on July 24, 2025. A Chinese Dakai-class submarine rescue vessel transits the East China Sea on July 24, 2025. Joint Staff of Japan's Defense Ministry Luck described both classes as large, modern vessels that considerably enhance the "capability and range for Chinese submarine salvage and support operations." Given the significant expansion and ongoing modernization of China's submarine fleet, he said it was "very much plausible" that a submarine was part of the Dakai-class vessel's deployment. In its latest report on China's military development, the Pentagon assessed that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)—the official name of China's navy—has "highly prioritized" the modernization of its submarine fleet, which is expected to grow from 60 to 80 vessels by 2035. What People Are Saying Australia-based naval analyst Alex Luck told Newsweek: "Generally speaking, the Chinese navy would want to ensure their logistics support chain in the context of significantly expanded submarine operations particularly for the nuclear-powered fleet. Therefore this deployment is yet another sign of things to come." The Pentagon said in its 2024 China military power report: "The PLAN operates six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN), and 48 diesel powered/air-independent powered attack submarines (SS). Despite the ongoing retirement of older hulls, the PLAN's submarine force is expected to grow to 65 units by 2025 and 80 units by 2035 due to an expansion of submarine construction capacity." What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether the Japanese military will detect the Chinese submarine rescue ship on its return journey—or even track a Chinese submarine operating near its territory.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Number of International Adoptions in U.S. Plummets
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. International adoptions to the United States have fallen to a record low, marking a 94 percent decline since their peak in the early 2000s. 2023 was the lowest year for international adoptions, according to the Pew Research Center's analysis based on U.S. State Department data. Why it Matters The collapse in international adoptions represents a significant shift in how children without parental care are placed and cared for worldwide. While once considered a humanitarian solution, foreign adoptions are now more tightly regulated under international frameworks like the 1993 Hague Convention, which emphasizes a child's right to remain in their country of origin where possible. For example, Russia barred Americans from adopting Russian children in 2013 and expanded those restrictions to the rest of the world in 2024. Ethiopia stopped allowing foreign adoptions in 2018, China banned them in 2024 and South Korea announced plans this year to end all private international adoptions following a probe into irregularities. Guatemala halted international adoptions in 2008 amid allegations of child trafficking. What To Know The peak of foreign adoptions was in 2004, when almost 23,000 foreign-born children joined U.S. families via adoption. The number fell to just 1,275 adoptions in 2023, according to U.S. State Department data. International adoptions have declined yearly since 2004, mirroring similar falls in countries such as Canada, France, Italy, and Spain. This is largely because the countries that historically represented the largest sources of adoptee—China, Russia, Guatemala, South Korea and Ethiopia—have taken steps to limit international adoptions. China accounted for 29 percent of all adoptions since 1999, Russia accounted for 16 percent, Guatemala 10 percent, South Korea 8 percent and Ethiopia 6 percent. The decline is not isolated to the U.S.; major adoption countries across Europe and North America are also seeing dramatic drops. France, for instance, saw international adoptions plummet 97 percent from 2004 to 2024. Rising costs and bureaucracy are also factors. The cost of international adoption jumped from a median of $6,000 in 2008 to over $30,000 in 2018, according to the Institute for Family Studies. What People Are Saying The Head of International Surrogacy and Adoption and Wilson Solicitors LLP, Amna Khaliq, told British newspaper in 2020: "Not all countries are open for adoption. You will have countries which either prevent adoption from happening overseas or are not on the UK's list of countries where they will allow adoptions to take place due to the concerns about the processes of the country." American conservative commentator and author Naomi Schaefer Riley wrote for an essay on the topic in 2020: "The bureaucratic headaches and expenses have multiplied... Given the difficulties and costs of international adoption, agencies... have decided to cease their international adoption programs." File photo of a five-month baby girl looking at a globe, taken in Connecticut, in September 2015. File photo of a five-month baby girl looking at a globe, taken in Connecticut, in September 2015. AP Celebrity Adoptions: Changing Narratives High-profile celebrity adoptions drew public attention to international adoption's possibilities and challenges. Pop icon Madonna became the subject of extensive media coverage due to her adoption of children from Malawi, highlighting both the visibility and controversy surrounding international adoptions. Critics raised questions about whether celebrities received special treatment or skirted laws intended to protect children, and governments were sometimes pressured to scrutinize or restrict foreign adoptions more closely. What Happens Next International adoptions to the U.S. are likely to remain low as more countries restrict foreign adoptions and domestic placements increase in many origin countries. Adoption agencies, such as Bethany Christian Services, have shifted focus to supporting children in their countries of birth or prioritizing domestic adoptions. Efforts to balance the need for ethical oversight with the desire to provide homes for children will continue to shape international adoption policy. Meanwhile, international surrogacy—a separate practice not regulated under the Hague Convention—is reportedly increasing, raising new legal and ethical questions, according to the Pew Research Center.
