Reconnaissance plane SU-24MR crashes in Chita Region

An SU-24MR reconnaissance plane crashed in Chita Region yesterday evening. According to the Russian television news program Vesti representatives of the military leadership were on their way to the crash site to learn the reasons behind the catastrophic crash. The Air Force Press Service Director Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsk said the airplane experienced a catastrophe during its landing attempt at the Boda airfield at 17:09 p.m. An unspecified number of pilots were killed in the crash.

An Air Force spokesman said that the SU-24MR 'completed its planned flight in nighttime conditions.' During the plane's landing attempt, however, the plane disappeared from radar screens about 5 kilometers from the airfield. Around 18:00 p.m. rescue workers discovered the crashed plane and bodies of the dead pilots.