31 Killed When Soviet Airliner Skids off Runway
A Soviet airliner on a domestic flight skidded off a runway Saturday in Uzbekistan and smashed into concrete construction blocks, killing 31 people, the state news agency Tass said.
The crash occurred as the Antonov-24 turboprop, carrying 52 passengers and four crew members, was landing in Tashkent, capital of the southern republic.
The plane hit construction blocks being used for repairs at the airport, Tass reported.
A state aviation commission is investigating the cause of the accident. Police in Tashkent said they had no details on the crash and did not know whether any foreigners were aboard.
The plane had flown from Navoi, a small Uzbek city about 250 miles to the west. Tass said the plane belonged to the Uzbek Civil Aviation Department, not to the state Aeroflot airline.
The Antonov-24 is a Soviet-made twin turboprop craft that went out of production in 1978, according to Jane’s “All the World’s Aircraft.”
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