The An-12 cargo plane, which crashed in the Irkutsk Region, started falling from an altitude of 230 meters after the crew had reported their decision to go around, an air traffic controller of the airport said in a footage uploaded on the Instagram account of Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev.
"After the crew had reported their intention to perform a go-around, within literally 3-4 seconds the altitude dropped from 230 meters to 120 meters, and then [the plane] went off the radar," he said.
The Yakutsk-Irkutsk flight operated by the Belarusian Grodno carrier went off the radar at 14.45 Moscow Time. The An-12 cargo plane carrying food was later found seven kilometers from the eastern Siberian city of Irkutsk, near the village of Pivovarikha. The aircraft caught fire when crashing. The blaze engulfed an area of over 300 square meters, but was extinguished. Seven crew were killed in the crash.
Human error, weather conditions or aircraft issues are being considered as priority leads in the investigation.
