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Antonov An-12 cargo crashes in Northern Greece
On July 16th, 2022, the Ukrainian cargo aircraft Antonov An-12, operated by Meridian, crashed next to the city of Kavala in northern Greece, killing 8 crew members on board. The initial cause of the accident is engine failure.
The crash
The Antonov An-12 plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh took off from Nis airport (Serbia) at around 8:30 - 8:40 pm UTC on Saturday and headed to Amman (for refueling), Jordan. While flying over Greece, the crew reportedly asked for an emergency landing at Kavala airport due to the failure of one of the engines. But failed to reach the runway.
An aircraft was noticed by local residents at around 22:45 pm UTC in a corn field, testifying that plane caught fire before crashing.
Before reaching its final destination of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, the plane was supposed to make stops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and India.
What we know so far?
According to the Defence Minister of Serbia Nebojša Stefanovic, the plane was transporting 11 tonnes of weapons from Nis to Bangladesh, including mortar shells, made by its defense industry.
Firefighters, the army, and aviation experts will be able to approach the crash area after it is considered safe, as there are fears of explosions and hazardous cargo materials.
Both, Ukraine’s foreign ministry and Meridian CEO, the Ukrainian airline company, that operated an aircraft, confirmed that the crew was all Ukrainian citizens.
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