Aircraft Yakovlev Yak-52 crashed in the Stavropol Region in Russia, causing the death of two people. The airplane took off from the village of Nezlobnoye, but lost height and fell near Pyatigorskiy, suffering explosion and fire after the crash. The two people on board of the aircraft Yakovlev Yak-52 died at the scene.
The accident was reported to local authorities by witnesses, who saw the falling plane. At the scene were sent rescuers and emergency teams, but they were not able to save the people inside. The firefighters extinguished the flames, which erupted after the aircraft contacted the ground.
“One of those killed was a 72-year-old man. He was a former military pilot with extensive experience. The other man has not yet been identified”, said the officials, who arrived at the scene of the crash. “The plane took off from the village of Nezlobnoye. The causes of the crash have not yet been established. The aircraft is severely damaged as it caught fire after hitting the ground”, adds the statement.
The circumstances around the crash are unclear. The local authorities initiated investigation for the root cause.
Yakovlev Yak-52 is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. The airplane was designed as an aerobatic trainer for students in the Soviet DOSAAF training organisation, which trained civilian sport pilots and military pilots. It is two-seat primary trainer aircraft, powered by a 360-hp (268-kW) Vedeneyev M-14P nine-cylinder radial piston-engine.
