Two On Board Fatally Injured In The Accident

An Antonov An-2 biplane went down late last week during a demonstration intended to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the model.

RT Novosti reports that video of the accident posted online shows the plane making a left turn before and descending into the ground. A post-impact fire ensued.

Organizers of the event in the Balashikha, Moscow area told the Russian news service TASS that the fatalities included pilot Dmitry Sukharev and Boris Tylevich, an amateur photo journalist.  The demonstration flights were stopped after the accident, according to the show officials.

As many as 10 rescue vehicles and 36 first responders were dispatched to the accident scene, according to the report. No one on the ground was injured.

The An-2 is among the oldest Russian aircraft still in active service. The biplane, which is often used in agriculture, is called the 'kukuruznik', which translates to 'corn crop duster'. It first flew on August 31, 1947 and was in active production until 2001. More than 18,000 of the airplanes were built over its production run, according to RT.

(Image from YouTube video)

FMI: Original Report