Qualla: 2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash

2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash: Introduction

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

They called it Antei -- Antaeus, after the giant of Greek mythology who drew strength from the earth. The Antonov An-22 was the world's largest turboprop aircraft when it first flew in 1965, a Soviet answer to the problem of moving heavy military equipment across a country that spans eleven time zones. By December 2025, only one remained operational. On the morning of December 9, that last An-22 lifted off from Ivanovo for a test flight following heavy maintenance. It never completed its climb. The aircraft broke apart in midair and fell into Uvod'skoye Reservoir, killing all five crew members and two passengers aboard.

2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash: The Last Antaeus

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The aircraft that crashed was registered RF-08832, an An-22A manufactured in 1975 and powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12MA turboprop engines, the most powerful turboprops ever built. The NK-12 drives contra-rotating propellers that generate a noise signature so distinctive that West...

2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash: Breakup Over the Reservoir

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The flight departed Ivanovo at approximately 11:00 Moscow time. What happened in the minutes that followed was captured in fragments: witness accounts, scattered debris, the cold fact that the aircraft came apart during its initial climb. An in-flight structural breakup is among ...

2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash: An Airframe's Half Century

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The An-22 was born from a specific Soviet need: an aircraft capable of delivering tanks, missile systems, and engineering equipment to unpaved airstrips in remote terrain. Its massive fuselage could accommodate cargo that no other aircraft of its era could carry. During the Sovie...

2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash: The End of a Type

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The loss of RF-08832 was more than one crash. It was the extinction of an aircraft type. With no production line, no remaining operational airframes, and no realistic prospect of rebuilding the fleet, the An-22's December 2025 crash marked the end of 60 years of service. Aviation...