MOSCOW (TASS) – A military plane carrying senior Kazakh security officials has crashed yesterday in the south of the country, killing all those on board. There were 27 people aboard the plane, including the head of the border service Turganbek Stambekov.

(© Photo: Vesti.ru)

The crashed An-72 was carrying 20 border servicemen and 7 crew. According to the prosecutor’s office statement, the plane was landing in inclement weather. On December 25 the Aviation Service had issued an icing warning to crews headed for Shymkent airport.

The cause of the accident has not yet been established. The interdepartmental commission soon expects to receive expert information from black-boxes.

The last accident of an An-72 was on 27 November 2006, when an Iranian Antonov An-74 crashed on take-off from Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, killing 37 of 38 people on board. Only one passenger survived the crash. An-72 is a Soviet transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as a STOL (short takeoff and landing) transport with capabilities of takeoff roll as short as 620 metres and landing run, 420 metres. It was designed to be used on unprepared surfaces, its robust undercarriage and high-flotation tyres allowing operations on sand, grass or other unpaved surfaces.