CCTV Captures Moment Russian Passenger Plane Slams Into Ground, Killing 71

The deadly crash of a Saratov Airlines AN-148 passenger plane on Sunday was captured by a backyard surveillance camera on a house near the crash site in Moscow’s Ramensky district. All 65 passengers and six crewmembers aboard were killed, including three children.

The video shows the final moments of the plane, which appears to explode on impact; the timestamp on the video reads 14:27 Moscow time, which corroborates official reports.

Flight 730 to Orsk vanished from radar several minutes after radio contact was lost, shortly after takeoff from Moscow. 

The plane – a 7 year old, short-haul regional Antonov AN-148 – was bound for the Russian city of Orsk in the Orenburg region that borders Kazakhstan, according to Reuters. The plane was first operated by Rossiya Airlines, including on international routes, and then was leased to Saratov Airlines.

The cause of the crash is unknown, however authorities suspect an aircraft malfunction, weather conditions and pilot error (i.e. nothing external is suspected to have brought the plane down). The pilots did not report any technical issues, nor activate a mayday call, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. 

“At first, something exploded under the wing and caught fire. After that, there was another flash and the plane fell sharply down. Everyone saw the flash. Everything was so quick,” a witness told Mash Telegram-channel. 

Eyewitnesses told Life they saw a flash in the sky, suggesting that one of the engines may have exploded.

The men said that they heard a loud explosion, after which a big “dome” of fire rose to the sky.

Turbine as at take-off, then silence. And the explosion, the glass shook, I look, and there is a dome (fire). Like a mushroom cap. And that’s all, we ran there. Come, and there are bodies. But they are under the snow, – eyewitnesses told. –Life.ru (translated)