Aircraft Yakovlev Yak-18T crashed under unknown circumstances at former military Kalinka Airfield in Khabarovsk, Russia. Following the crash, the plane was completely destroyed by fire, while both people on board died in the crash. There were no injured people on the ground or damages to the facilities. The emergency services responded immediately after the crash and extinguished the flames, but were not able to rescue the occupants on board.
The investigation for the root cause of the accident is underway. The circumstances around the crash are unclear, but according to preliminary information the weather in the vicinity was good and the plane did not suffer a technical problem.
Experts from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and criminologists of the Interior Ministry are on the site.
The Yakovlev Yak-18T is a four- or five-seat fully aerobatic utility aircraft. Introduced to train Aeroflot pilots, it has gained some popularity as a sportplane both inside and outside the former USSR. It is powered by a 268-298 kW (360-400 hp) Vedeneyev M14P radial engine, and is designed for stresses of +6.48/-3.24 g.
