On the afternoon of March 6, the Russian military transport aircraft An-26 crashed when landing at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. All who were on board 39 people (6 crew members and 33 passengers) were killed. The board collided with the ground, not reaching just 500 meters before the runway.

Witnesses of the incident say that the aircraft in the last moments tilted and flew sideways. He fell not on buildings, but on a plantation of citrus, so there are no victims and destruction on earth. Fire impact was not, that is, the aircraft was not shot down. At the time of landing, the aircraft is particularly vulnerable, but there was no gas trace from the MANPADS. A strong wind blew, but it was clear, that is, the weather conditions were not complicated. Commission of the Ministry of Defense is studying all versions of the crash. The "black box" from the board is already found and sent for decoding. While the main cause of the crash is a technical malfunction.

The plane carried out a flight to the air base Kuveis in the province of Aleppo, where it did not even muffle the engines, and returned to Khmeimim. The distance between the airbases is only 200 kilometers.

The An-26 was built in 1980. Such transport vehicles are still in operation in Russia and CIS countries. It accommodates about 30 people (depending on the equipment), or 24 people on stretchers. Designed for the transport of goods on lines of medium and short lengths. This board was also used for press tours. On the same plane moves the commander of the Russian group in Syria. According to experts, this model of the aircraft is very reliable and unpretentious, it can be planted even on a ground cover.

The dispatching service of the airfield Khmeimim from the beginning of the military operation became completely Russian. Crew crashed side more than once performed landing at the airbase Khemeymim, with conditions was well familiar. The ship's commander was an experienced first-class pilot. All the passengers who died in the crash of the plane were military: 26 officers from ensign to major general, and servicemen - contract soldiers. There were no civilians on board.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that they will be provided with all kinds of assistance and assistance. Already received the condolences from the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

On March 7, in Chechnya near the village of Shatoi, when entering the landing site, a Mi-8 helicopter, belonging to the border service. On board were 7 people. Six died, one seriously wounded. If his state of health allows, the victim will be sent to the Moscow hospital. While local doctors are doing it. Helicopter dropped for border guards to land. When the distance to the ground was about 2 meters, there was a strong gust of wind. Two border guards managed to jump out. The helicopter dragged and from a cliff of 150 meters thrown into the abyss.