Russian An-22 Military Transport Breaks Apart Mid-Flight — Crash Footage

Footage has emerged showing the crash of an An-22 military transport aircraft, Antey, in Russia’s Furmanovsky district near the Uvodsky reservoir.

Supernova+ observers shared the video of the incident.

The footage shows the aircraft rapidly losing altitude before breaking apart in mid-air. The crash was reported on December 9. All seven crew members on board died.

The aircraft was performing a scheduled flight following maintenance. Planes of this type are based at the Ivanovo-Severny military airfield.

Sources cited by the Russian media outlet Kommersant said the An-22 had been in service for over 50 years and was operating after routine maintenance. According to the sources, this was the last An-22 still in operation in Russia.

An-22

The An-22 Antey is a Soviet military transport aircraft developed in Kyiv in the 1960s. It first flew on February 27, 1965.

Serial production began in 1966, with operational service starting in 1969. At the time, the An-22 was the world’s largest turboprop aircraft.

The aircraft can carry up to 80 tons of payload, with a maximum takeoff weight of about 250 tons.

It is powered by four NK-12MA turboprop engines, each generating approximately 15,000 horsepower.

The An-22 was a pioneering super-heavy transport aircraft, paving the way for larger models such as the An-124 Ruslan and the An-225 Mriya.