No survivors after Angara Airlines turboprop An-24 crashes in Russia’s Far East
July 24, 2025
An ageing Soviet-era Antonov An-24 passenger turboprop has crashed in Russia’s Far East Amur Region. Russian authorities indicate that everyone on board died.
Preliminary assessment shows no signs of survivors
According to the state-run Russian news agency, TASS, an Angara Airlines Antonov An-24 has crashed in the Russian Far East, claiming the lives of all onboard in a preliminary assessment.
The Mi-8 helicopter crew inspecting the crash site from the air found no signs of survivors. It added that search and rescue teams have been unable to land at the crash site due to the mountainous terrain, as well as the area remaining engulfed in flames. Footage has since emerged on social media of the wreck.
Russian An-24 with 49 people on board crashed near the town of Tynda. There are no survivors on board. https://t.co/4Q0plzzwuT pic.twitter.com/sdU4nITZEj
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 24, 2025
There is some confusion about how many people were on board. Russian emergency response services said it was carrying 40 passengers and six crew, while the Governor of the Amur Region said there were a total of 43 passengers and six crew at the time of the crash.
The news comes after an Aeroflot Boeing 737 was nearly shot down earlier this month over Moscow. The aircraft was mildly damaged by Russian flak fire but managed to land safely.
What’s known about the Angara Airlines An-24 crash
According to TASS, the An-24 was operated by Russia’s Angara Airlines (Irkutsk) and was flying from Khabarovsk to Blagoveshchensk to Tynda in Russia’s Far East. It is also reported by NEXTA that the aircraft was almost 50 years old and had its airworthiness certificate extended until 2036.
During the landing approach to Tynda Airport, the publication says the aircraft “initiated a go-around procedure,” losing contact thereafter. In another update, it says the An-24 caught fire during its descent.
According to the Angara Airlines’ website, it was founded in 2000 and is now “the major airline on domestic flights in Siberia and the leader of flights from Irkutsk airport.” It adds it operates a fleet of 32 aircraft made up of five AN-148s, seven AN-24s, three AN-26-100s, two AN-2s, and eleven Mi-8 helicopters in various modifications.
The An-24 is a turboprop aircraft used for short and medium flights in the region. It is typically configured with 48 seats.
Russia’s struggling aviation sector
Russia’s aviation industry is heading towards dire straits. As the world’s largest nation and with so many isolated communities that often have no road access to the outside world, Russia is dependent on aircraft to connect them.
This is something similar to why Anchorage in Alaska is home to the world’s largest seaplane base at Lake Hood.
While the cause of the Antonov An-24 crash is unclear, it’s worth noting that the aircraft was old. These were produced by Antonov in the USSR between 1959 and 1979. A total of 1,367 examples were built, including the Chinese licensed copy, the Xi’an Y-7.
Russia is cut off from the international aviation market due to sanctions imposed in 2022 in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. Not only does it make it difficult for Russia to maintain its existing mainline Airbus and Boeing aircraft, but it is also impacting Russia’s ability to produce its own aircraft due to reliance on imported components.
In 2022, Russia stated it would produce 1,000 aircraft of all types by 2030 to meet a projected need for 1,000 aircraft over that period. As of mid-2025, not one new Russian-produced aircraft has been delivered, except for seven Superjets assembled with pre-sanction stockpiled components. No Russian aircraft deliveries are expected in 2025.
This is forcing Russian airlines to rely on ever-ageing aircraft like the Antonov An-24. Even Russia’s turboprop TVRS-44 Ladoga, in development, is delayed, although the first prototype may now have been built.
The TVRS-44 is expected to help replace the An-24 as well as other ageing 30-50 seat aircraft like the An-26, An-140, and Yak-40. In 2022, Russia stated it planned to build 140 of these aircraft by 2030.
