A Russian AN-22 military transport aircraft crashed in the Ivanovo region on December 9, 2025, during a test flight following repairs. All seven crew members on board were killed.
The Crash
The AN-22 went down in an uninhabited area of the Ivanovo region, approximately 150 miles northeast of Moscow. Russian state media reported that seven crew members were on board at the time of the crash.
The aircraft was conducting a test flight after undergoing repairs when it went down, according to Russia’s defense ministry. All seven crew members were killed in the accident.
Search crews were deployed to the crash site and an investigation has been opened into the cause of the accident.
About the AN-22
The Antonov AN-22, known as “Antei” (Antheus), is the world’s largest turboprop-powered aircraft. The massive cargo plane was designed by the Soviet Union’s Antonov Design Bureau in the 1960s for heavy military transportation.
The AN-22 is powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12MA turboprop engines with contra-rotating propellers—the same engines that power Russia’s Tu-95 strategic bombers. The aircraft can carry approximately 60 tonnes of cargo, including main battle tanks and missile launchers.
The first AN-22 flew on February 27, 1965, and at the time it was the world’s largest aircraft. Production ended in 1974after approximately 75 aircraft were delivered to the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot.
A Rare Aircraft
Very few AN-22s remain in service with the Russian military today. The aircraft’s age and the small number of airframes still operational make each loss significant to Russia’s strategic airlift capability.
This is not the first fatal AN-22 crash. On December 28, 2010, another AN-22 crashed in Russia’s Tula region during a training flight, killing all 12 crew members on board. That aircraft had been built in 1974 and was one of only five AN-22s still in service with the Russian military at the time.
The loss of the AN-22 and its seven crew members represents another blow to Russia’s aging fleet of Soviet-era strategic transport aircraft. With production having ended five decades ago and only a handful of airframes remaining operational, each crash further reduces Russia’s heavy airlift capacity at a time when the country’s military operations place significant demands on its transport fleet.
