The prototype of the latest Russian military transport aircraft Il-112B, which crashed in Kubinka near Moscow, has already had engine problems several times before. This was reported on Tuesday, August 17, by the Telegram channel WarGonzo, citing a source in the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
According to the interlocutor of the channel, after the first flight, which took place in 2019 and was also accompanied by problems, the Il-112B stood on the ground for almost a year and a half. Then the aircraft began to be actively operated and quite quickly they found out again that it had problems with the engine — this happened on the sixth flight. The source did not disclose the nature of the problems that occurred.
It is known that during the first flight of the Il-112B, its automation failed. As noted by the chief designer of "Il" Nikolay Talikov, then the right engine of the aircraft switched to hydromechanics and worked "in a slightly lower speed mode". The specialist stressed that the engine did not stop because of this.
The IL-112B crashed during a training flight at the Kubinka airfield near Moscow. The technical malfunction of the aircraft and piloting error are currently being considered as the causes of the crash. It was reported that before the crash, the right engine of the plane caught fire.
Varvara Koshechkina