Russian Air Force’s newest transport aircraft crashes near Moscow

A prototype of the newest Russian IL-112V military light transport aircraft crashed during a flight in Kubinka outside Moscow.

The incident occurred during a training flight at the Kubinka air base. The cause of the crash is unknown.

Eyewitnesses report that the plane caught fire shortly before the crash.

All three crew members on board were killed when the Il-112V went down on Aug. 17.

*This is a developing story. More details will be added as they emerge.

The Il-112V is the first military transport plane developed in Russia from scratch in the post-Soviet period. The work on the plane’s development has been going on at the Ilyushin Aircraft Company since 2014. The Il-112V is designated to transport personnel, military hardware and armaments.

Russia is developing the Il-112V to replace An-26 and An-24 turbo-prop planes. The Il-112 performed its debut flight on March 30, 2019, and took to the skies for the second time two years later.

The project to develop a new aircraft faced numerous technical difficulties.