Following the crash of an almost 50-year-old Antonov An-24 aircraft in Russia, aviation expert Vincas Šnirpūnas told LRT.lt that the accident was likely linked to maintenance issues rather than the aircraft’s age.
Wreckage from a Russian Antonov-24 passenger plane, which had been carrying over 40 people, was discovered in the Russian Far East after it disappeared from radar, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry reported on Thursday.
“A Rosaviatsiya Mi-8 helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane,” the ministry announced on Telegram.
The aircraft, operated by Siberia-based airline Angara, was flying the Khabarovsk–Blagoveshchensk–Tynda route. While attempting to land in Tynda, it failed to touch down on its first approach, circled, and then vanished from radar at around 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. Lithuanian time).
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, which cited rescue services, there were 40 passengers and six crew members on board. The plane was almost 50 years old, having been manufactured in 1976.
Old doesn't mean bad
Following the crash, aviation expert and lecturer at the Antanas Gustaitis Aviation Institute of VILNIUS TECH, Vincas Šnirpūnas, stressed that the age of an aircraft alone does not make it unsafe.
“The aircraft is very old, but that does not mean it is bad. What matters is proper maintenance. If standards are not followed, if technical checks are delayed or not performed at all, and if parts are not replaced once their service life ends, then an accident is inevitable,” said Šnirpūnas.
“For example, Boeing follows the philosophy that its aircraft structures have no fixed service life, but require more frequent inspections with age. Meanwhile, Airbus operates on the principle that after 40–50 thousand landings, an aircraft is ready for retirement,” Šnirpūnas said.
However, he noted that determining the current state of Russian aircraft is challenging. Since the start of the war, the export of Airbus and Boeing spare parts to Russia has been banned.
“There is very little information about the condition of these planes. The biggest issue concerns Boeing and Airbus engines. While they somehow still obtain other parts, engine maintenance is far more complicated. These engines require overhauls, which the Russians cannot perform themselves. They must be sent abroad, which is not easy for Russia,” said Šnirpūnas.
The Antonov An-24 is a twin-engine turboprop regional aircraft designed in Ukraine in 1957. It first flew on October 29, 1959, and was produced until 1979, primarily in Kyiv.
The designers intended the An-24 to be capable of taking off and landing on short, poorly prepared airstrips while being simple to operate and maintain.
Public records list more than 150 accidents and incidents involving this aircraft type.
Use of An-24 in Lithuania ended in 1996
According to Šnirpūnas, the Antonov An-24 was extremely popular in Russia and continues to be used there.
The expert recalls that the airline Aviavilsa once operated this aircraft in Lithuania.
“However, the aircraft was later banned from registration in Lithuania. The last two countries in the European Union to adopt it were Poland and Hungary. In Lithuania, its use was prohibited due to shortcomings in ensuring safe operation,” he added.
“For example, in 2010 in Tallinn, there was an incident when an Antonov An-26B lost one engine during landing. The aircraft successfully touched down on a frozen lake near the airport,” the expert recalled.
Vidmantas Plėta, head of Civil Aviation at the Lithuanian Transport Competence Agency (TKA), told LRT.lt why An-24 aircraft have long disappeared from Lithuania. He explained that Lithuanian airlines operated this model until 1996.
“After that, one private airline continued using two An-26 aircraft for some time. The An-26 is essentially a cargo version of the An-24,” said Plėta.
“Under EU regulations and flight safety standards, the An-24 cannot be used in civil aviation because it lacks a type certificate issued or recognised by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),” he added.
While the An-26 held such certification, enabling its use as a cargo aircraft in Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria, operators eventually phased them out.
“With supply chain issues for spare parts, limited access to maintenance services, and increasingly strict aircraft noise regulations, airlines in the EU gradually retired most of the An-26 fleet,” Plėta explained.
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