Galloway duo appeal for donations ahead of mercy mission to war-ravaged Ukraine
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Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Passengers on doomed Russian plane film 'fumes' in the cabin and mock the 50-year-old aircraft for being 'so old' - before it plunged into a forest killing all 49 on board
Passengers on a doomed Russian plane filmed fumes filling the cabin before it plunged in to a forest, killing all 49 passengers on board. The An-24 twin-turboprop aircraft operated by Angara Airlines dropped off radar as it came into land at Tynda airport in the mountainous Amur region at 1:00pm local time (0400 GMT). Before its flight there were reports of technical problems on the aircraft that needed repair before its final takeoff. The plane, almost 50 years old, had flown from Khabarovsk with a stopover in Blagoveshchensk but crashed en route to its final destination of Tynda. Passengers who disembarked in Blagoveshchensk - where repairs were carried out - showed footage of 'steam' or 'smoke' or 'fumes' in the cabin. In the video clips, the travellers could be heard mocking the antiquated planes flying in Vladimir Putin 's skies. One woman's voice said: 'This time we're flying on an even worse one… 'I'm flying. It's so old, it's just f***ed.' The An-24 twin-turboprop aircraft operated by Angara Airlines dropped off radar as it came into land at Tynda airport in the mountainous Amur region at 1:00pm local time (0400 GMT) Footage also shows a leak into the cabin on the first leg of its final flight. It is unclear if this was harmless water vapour on the twin turboprop An-24, but it appeared to concern the passengers who labelled it 'steam' or 'smoke' or 'fumes'. There was an unscheduled delay of two hours before the plane flew on to Tynda on its final journey from Blagoveshchensk. Aircraft maintenance engineer Alexey Lysenko, 29, killed in the crash, reportedly told colleagues during the stopover 'that the aircraft had arrived with some kind of technical fault'. He reported this to his colleagues. His brother said that there were attempts to fix the issue but other difficulties incuding with the weather also delayed its flight. He said: 'They were trying to resolve it. Then there were issues with the weather — they weren't given clearance to take off right away, so there was a delay. 'After about two hours, they departed.' It is unclear if the fumes were harmless water vapour on the twin turboprop An-24, but it appeared to concern the passengers who labelled it 'steam' or 'smoke' It is unclear what these technical problems were but a crash investigation is underway. The plane was confirmed to have gone down after helicopters dispatched by Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations spotted remnants of the plane's fuselage on a mountainside some 16 kilometres from Tynda. All 49 people on board were reported killed, according to the ministry. Footage shared to Russia's Telegram messaging app by onlookers on the forest floor showed the plane soaring dangerously low over the tree line as it made its final approach. Weather conditions were poor with low cloud and rain, but the pilots did not report any problems to air traffic control before losing contact. Videos shared on Telegram by emergency workers riding in rescue helicopters showed the smouldering ruins of the plane scattered amid the trees. The fuselage looked to have completely broken apart and caught fire upon impact. 'During the search operations, the Mi-8 helicopter of the Federal Air Transport Agency discovered the fuselage of the plane, which is on fire. Rescuers continue to proceed to the scene of the incident,' a statement from the Ministry read. Subsequent images from the scene showed the plane had effectively disintegrated, with debris strewn over a large area. Of the 49 people on board, six were crew members and five passengers were listed as children. Search and rescue parties were dispatched after air traffic controllers lost all communication with the pilots, who were named as Captain Vyacheslav Logvinov and co-pilot Kirill Plaksin. Among the passengers was well-known thoracic surgeon Dr Leonid Maizel, 71, from Khabarovsk Regional Clinical Hospital. He was joined by Dr Galina Naidyonova, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, and her husband Dr Alexey Naidyonov, a functional diagnostics doctor. Their 14-year-old grandson was also flying with them and is believed to have been killed. Other passengers feared dead include primary school teacher Elena Velikanova and chemical and biological technologist Natalia Shiyan. The town of Tynda, home to roughly 30,000 people, is extremely remote and is surrounded by dense forest and mountainous terrain. It is located some 5,170 kilometres (3,213 miles) east of Moscow and just 273 kilometres (169 miles) from the Chinese border. The doomed plane had taken off earlier today from the eastern city of Khabarovsk and landed for a brief layover in Blagoveshchensk before continuing on to Tynda. It underwent a technical inspection while on the runway at Blagoveshchensk's Ignatyevo airport and was found to be technically sound, according to emergency services. However, Vadim Bazykin, a distinguished Russian test pilot, said the An-24's airframe and avionics had not been modified for many years. 'I think it would be better to ban flights on such old equipment if we are unable to bring it up to standard,' he said. 'We are simply putting passengers at risk all the time.' The An-24 is an ageing propeller aircraft developed in the Soviet Union during the late 1950s as a transport plane and was subsequently converted for use by passenger airlines. The doomed aircraft's tail number - RA-47315 - showed it was built in 1976 and was operated by Soviet flag carrier Aeroflot before the 1991 collapse of the USSR. It was subsequently bought by the Siberia-based private airline Angara, which operates 10 An-24s built between 1972 and 1976, according to the RussianPlanes web portal. Angara was one of two Siberian airlines that last year asked the Russian government to extend the service life of the Antonov aircraft as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by an exodus of foreign manufacturers. The Amur regional government declared that air ambulances had been dispatched along with search parties to administer medical treatment in the case that anyone had survived. Vasily Orlov, Governor of Amur, wrote in a statement: 'All necessary forces and means are involved in searching for the plane. I kindly ask you not to trust unverified information.' A hotline for relatives of passengers has been set up by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Orlov added. At least one Chinese national was on the flight, state media in China reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 'I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims,' Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Authorities have launched a probe on the charge of flight safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths, a standard procedure in aviation accidents. Nicknamed 'flying tractors', An-24s are regarded as reliable workhorses by the Russian aviation industry and are well-suited to the harsh conditions in Siberia as they are able to operate in sub-zero conditions and don't have to land on runways. But airline executives, pilots and industry experts say the cost of maintaining the aircraft - which make up a fraction of Russia's fleet of over 1,000 passenger planes - has increased after Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine hit investment and access to parts. Many of the planes were due to be retired from service in the coming years, but regional airlines are trying to keep them flying until a replacement enters into service as they say there is no alternative until then. Mass production of the new Ladoga aircraft, the same class as the An-24, is not due to begin until 2027 at the earliest.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Man makes baffling historical discovery in house he's lived in his whole life
After discovering an unusual hat on top of a cupboard in the house he has lived in his whole life, a man sought advice from others to work out what the many badges attached to it might mean A man has sought the help of historians after he discovered an unusual artefact tucked away in the house he has lived in his entire life. He took to Reddit to share three snaps of a khaki-coloured hat featuring several badges and a patch embroidered with the letters 'CA'. It's not the first time someone has made a haunting discovery at home, so the man went online for advice. "Found this hat on top of a cabinet at my house I've lived in my whole life," the man penned in the Weird subreddit. "I have no idea where it came from." He went on to add: "I've lived in this house 10+ years and this just appeared randomly. My family and I have no idea where it came from." Badges included that of tanks, an eagle, stars and a hammer and sickle, which prompted several Reddit users to share their theories, many of who were quick to point out it may have been of Russian origin. "A unique find, well done," one person praised. A second added: "Looks similar to my pop's VFW [Veterans of Foreign War] hat, but foreign." Others offered more detailed information, however. "This is a Soviet military side cap used as organiser for pins and stuff," one person explained. "In the first photo there are a sleeve patch, collar tabs and pins of various Soviet Army branches and a souvenir pin from the Kremlin. The pin with the eagle appears to be from a Russian military uniform. In the second photo there's a shoulder mark. CA stands for Soviet Army." Whilst a second agreed, explaining in more detail: "In the context of military uniforms, 'CA' on epaulettes typically refers to the Soviet Army (Sovetskaya Armiya). The letters 'CA' are the Cyrillic abbreviation for 'Soviet Army'. "Epaulettes are ornamental shoulder pieces, often found on military and other formal uniforms. In the case of the Soviet Army, they were used to denote rank and branch of service. "The letters "CA" were present on the epaulettes of most enlisted personnel. The garrison cap is also Soviet make." Meanwhile a third person, while agreeing, questioned the hat's authenticity. "It's a pilotka, I have one from when I went on holiday to Moscow years ago," they said. "They tend to be sold in the touristy areas of the city by street vendors and loaded with old athletic badges and stuff." After the Soviet Union was dissolved in December 1991, the newly formed Russian Federation adopted its own military structure and abolished 'CA' from uniforms. This was due to the 'Russian Army' replacing the 'Soviet Army'. On May 7, 1992, meanwhile, Russian President, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree creating the Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet troops on Russian territory under Russian control.
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Plane carrying 49 people crashes in Russia's Far East
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said search teams had found the plane's burning fuselage on a hillside south of its planned destination in the town of Tynda. Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke. An initial aerial inspection of the site suggested there were no survivors, Russia's Interfax news agency said, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services. Its sources also said there were difficult weather conditions in the area. The transport prosecutor's office in the Far East reported that the site of the crash is nine miles south of Tynda. The office said the plane attempted a second approach while trying to land when contact was lost. A total of 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members were on board the An-24 passenger plane as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Chinese border to the town of Tynda, regional governor Vasily Orlov said. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry reported that 48 people were on the flight, operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Authorities have launched an investigation on suspicion of flight safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths, a standard procedure in aviation accidents.
