An Il-76 plane exploded at the Russian aircraft factory

The fuselage of the Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft depressurized during tests at the Russian Aviastar aircraft factory in Ulyanovsk.

Russian media reported that six employees of the enterprise were injured as a result of this incident. One of them died from the injuries.

Emergency services are working at the scene.

The incident occurred inside the hangar where the plane was parked.

It is clarified that the enterprise was conducting tests of the fuselage compartment of the IL-76MD-90A military transport aircraft with the pressurized air.

At that moment, depressurization occurred, and the aircraft body was destroyed.

The media of the aggressor country have not yet reported the extent of damage to the aircraft structure. The causes of the event are being investigated.

The Aviastar aircraft factory in Ulyanovsk is part of the PJSC United Aircraft Corporation.

The Russian Il-76MD-90A is an updated version of the basic Soviet Il-76MD transport aircraft. Instead of the old D-30KP-2 engines, the more powerful and newer PS-90A-76 are used.

According to the Russians, the new engines made it possible to significantly increase the maximum flight range. Engines with a thrust of up to 14.5 tons allow the aircraft to lift up to 60 tons of payload into the air.

At the beginning of December last year, the Ministry of Defense of Russia received the Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft. It was the fourth aircraft of this type built in 2022.

As of today, the Aviastar aircraft factory has built 17 copies (including the prototype) of the Il-76MD-90A and one prototype of the Il-78M-90A aerial refueling aircraft under various contracts.