Li-2 Crashed Over The Weekend

The Lisunov Li-2 that crashed near Moscow Saturday was headed for AirVenture 2004, EAA officials confirmed on Monday.

The aircraft went down en route to a parachute competition in Kaluga, according to the Russian daily newspaper Novyie Izvestia. "When the plane took off, everyone rushed outside to look at it," federation pilot Marina Yemelyanova was quoted by Novyie Izvestia as saying. "After flying just over a kilometer, it started losing altitude. It crashed before our very eyes."

Two of the five people on board were killed instantly when the aircraft clipped a house and crashed in the adjacent yard. The pilot, Oleg Lyakishev, died while being rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Li-2 was owned by the Russian Aviation Lovers Federation. It, along with an Ilyushin IL-14, were to be part of the Aero Shell static display at Oshkosh this year. Because of the accident, said EAA officials, the IL-14 (file photo of type, above) won't be coming to the US to participate in AirVenture.

FMI: www.eaa.org