Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
CEN/@air_public
These images show a concerned passenger calling the rickety old biplane they are about to travel in a “devil plane” before shocking footage from inside the cabin shows how it plummets to the ground straight after takeoff.
The incident took place in the city of Magadan in the far-eastern Russian region of Magadan Oblast when the group was about to board an Antonov An-2, a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane.
According to local media, the plane was transporting workers to the nearby village of Seymchan and was carrying 14 people in total.
Miraculously, the 12 workers and two crew members all survived the plane crash.
Three video clips of the incident were shared on the social network ‘AirPublic’.
In the first clip, one of the workers, apparently sensing that a dramatic incident is about to take place, films the stationary plane on the icy tarmac and says: “This is the ‘devil plane’ we are going to fly in.
“It looks dead. It is very dangerous to fly.”
The second clip, filmed by one of the passengers, shows the moment the plane appears to lose engine power on takeoff and drops to the ground as the man yells in fear.
The third video shows the crashed plane on the ground as the passenger says: “Here it is! We have just crashed in this plane. Everyone is alive. I really wonder how I’m still alive.”
According to local media, seven passengers were injured and five suffered spinal fractures. The others only sustained minor injuries.
One passenger identified as Ivan Bovzya said: “It all happened so quickly. We managed to gain altitude of around 50 metres (164 feet) and then the plane started to fall. It felt like we were dropping into an abyss.”
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has reportedly launched an investigation into the incident.
At the moment, it is believed that the plane either crashed due to a technical fault or a piloting error.
The probe is ongoing.
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