3 dead after military plane crashes during test flight near Moscow

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Three people were killed in Russia on Tuesday when an experimental new military aircraft crashed near Moscow during a test flight, officials said.

All three were aboard the Ilyushin Il-112 light military transport airplane when it went down. All three died.

"According to information from the crash site of the Il-112, there are no survivors," United Aircraft Corporation, the plane's manufacturer, said in a tweet.

"We express our condolences to the relatives of the crew members Nikolai Kuimov, Dmitry Komarov, Nikolai Khludeev. The UAC will provide the necessary assistance to the families of the victims. There are no casualties or destruction on the ground."

The company said the aircraft had crashed close to Kubinka in the Moscow region and was a transport and airdrop vehicle that could carry light weapons, military hardware and troops. It was the only experimental model of the Il-112.

"The Il-112 light military transport plane crashed in a belt of trees while approaching the Kubinka airfield for landing during a training flight," the company told Interfax.

The state-run TASS news agency said reports suggested a fire was spotted in the right-wing engine of the plane.

The company said the plane was supposed to be unveiled at the Army-2021 International Military-Technical Forum. The Il-112 was the first military transport plane developed in Russia in the post-Soviet era.