Engine On Aging Russian Cargo Plane Bursts Into Flames During Takeoff

An Aviastar Tupolev Tu-204-100C had an engine burst into flames as it took off from an airport in Eastern Russia today. The cargo plane was departing for China, a journey that has become common over the last few years as Russian air freight traffic has increased in an attempt to resist Western sanctions. The sanctions have also led to a marked rise in aviation incidents involving Russian aircraft.

Eyewitnesses on the ground heard an explosion and then looked up to see the Tupolev with a stream of flames and sparks trailing off engine number one, the Daily Mail reports. The flight crew desperately dumped its fuel before making an emergency landing at Baikal Airport in Ulan-Ude, the same Siberian airport the plane took off from. It was reported that the eight people onboard, including five flight crew, were uninjured.

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