A Ukrainian four-engine plane ferrying cargo from Spain to Turkey made a hard emergency landing outside Lvov airport after it ran out of fuel, local authorities said. At least five people died in the accident.
Flown by a local airline, the Antonov An-12 went off radar on Friday morning as it descended into Lvov, a major city in western Ukraine. The turboprop plane, manned by seven crew members and one person accompanying the cargo, was flying from Spain to Turkey with a refuel stop at Lvov airport.
Rescue services scrambled to search for the plane shortly after air traffic control lost radio contact with the crew, according to Vladyslav Krykliy, Ukraine’s minister of infrastructure.
The An-12 was found on the ground just 1.5km from the runway, with its cockpit and wings badly damaged in the rough landing. Rescue workers retrieved everyone from inside the ill-fated plane, but five succumbed to their injuries, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
Although the plane didn’t hit the runway, Lviv airport suspended all inbound and outbound flights. During the emergency landing, thick fog and strong winds descended on the west and southwest of Ukraine, forcing some incoming aircraft to divert to an adjacent airfield.
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The plane in question belonged to the cargo airline ‘Ukraine Air Alliance.’ Designed back in the 1950s, the 50-ton plane served with numerous civil and military operators in former Soviet Union and beyond.
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