A prototype of the Ilyushin Il-112V military transport aircraft crashed in a wooded area near the Kubinka Air Base, Russia.
Three people were on board the Ilyushin Il-112V prototype, including Hero of Russia Nikolai Kuimov, according to the state-run TASS news agency. All three on board were killed.
The aircraft departed from Zhukovsky International Airport near Moscow at 10:35 hours local time and landed at Kubinka Air Base at 11:09. The flight took off again for a test flight at 11:14 hours. Four minutes later the flight crew radioed that they had a fire in the no.2 (right) engine.
Video footage of the last part of the flight shows the aircraft in flight with a serious fire in the no.2 engine. The aircraft slowly began rolling right while losing altitude. The nose dropped while the aircraft rolled inverted at low altitude. The aircraft impacted trees and burst into flames.
Latest: A new Russian Ilyushin IL-112V aircraft currently in development & undergoing flight testing has crashed on the outskirts of Moscow, following a fire.
Unbelievably, the final moments of the flight were filmed.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) August 17, 2021
United Aircraft Corporation is developing and testing the Ilyushin Il-112V as a replacement for the aging Antonov An-26.
In a statement, state corporation Rostec wrote: “a prototype of Russia’s new Il-112V military transport aircraft has crashed in the Moscow Region during a flight. Rostec creates an internal commission with the involvement of specialists from aircraft research institutes and manufacturers to investigate the accident of the Il-112v prototype that crashed today during a training flight in Kubinka, Moscow Region, adding that the aircraft is an experimental one, being at the testing stage.”
United Aircraft Corporation added: “The Il-112V crew commander was the Hero of the Russian Federation, test-pilot Nikolai Kuimov.”
The Il-112V military transport aircraft is designed for the transportation and airborne landing of personnel, weapons, and other cargoes with a maximum weight of 5 tonnes. Il-112V is expected to replace the An-26. The cruising speed of the aircraft is 470 kilometers per hour, while its flight range with a maximum load is 1,200 kilometers.
On 18 January 2018, the first prototype of the IL-112V was shown at the Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Company (VASO). It has two improved Klimov TV7-117ST turboprop engines, with 2,610 kW (3,500 hp) each, each powering six-bladed AV-112 constant-speed reversible pitch propellers. It is fitted with a monolithic, single-piece wing. The aircraft is 25.15 m long, with a height of 8.89 m and a wingspan of 27.6 m.
