An Antonov AN-148-100 airplane which operated as Saratov Airlines flight 703 and originated in Moscow on its way to Orsk has crashed near Dergayevo in the Ramensky District in Russia with at least 65 passengers and six members of the flight crew aboard the aircraft — none of whom survived, according to multiple sources and reports which are still currently unconfirmed.
No Survivors of Saratov Airplane Crash in Russia
The cause of the crash is still unclear at this time. The aircraft — which was only seven years old — reached an altitude of 6,400 feet after departing from Moscow before it disappeared from the radar approximately 50 miles away from the city near the village of Argunovo.
Saratov Airlines flight #6W703 from Moscow to Orsk is missing according to reports in mediahttps://t.co/76IcETh6on pic.twitter.com/5a9TwnJJXQ
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 11, 2018
MORE: 65 passengers & 6 crew members aboard missing Antonov An-148, operated by Saratov Airlines https://t.co/UdjthqSnXu pic.twitter.com/uC7al32k2R
— RT (@RT_com) February 11, 2018
Pieces of the wreckage were found in a field covered with snow.
An-148 of "Saratov airlines" crashed after takeoff from Domodedovo. 71 were onboard. Likely no survivor https://t.co/1BhF8aRC4h pic.twitter.com/js8vH2x0Qb #Russia
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) February 11, 2018
Past Aviation Disasters
Although it has been improving, the safety record of commercial aviation in or over Russia has been less than stellar in recent years.
- On Friday, March 18, 2016, a Boeing 737-800 airplane which operated as FlyDubai flight 981 and originated in Dubai had crashed in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia due to missing the runway upon attempting to land at the airport with at least 55 passengers and six members of the flight crew aboard the aircraft — none of whom survived.
- The crash of an Airbus A321-200 airplane which operated as Metrojet flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh on its way to Saint Petersburg in Russia on Saturday, October 31, 2015 killed all 224 people — comprised of 217 passengers and seven members of the flight crew — aboard the aircraft.
- A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft crashed at Vnukovo airport in Moscow on Saturday, December 29, 2012 when it overshot the runway and caught fire, narrowly missing vehicles on Kievskoye Highway just outside of the airport. At least four fatalities were reported.
- Only two of the 45 people aboard a Russian-built Yakovlev-42 charter aircraft — which landed into the Volga River in Yaroslavl, which is located just northeast of Moscow — survived the crash shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, September 7, 2011.
Summary
My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of the occupants of the doomed aircraft.
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