An Antonov An-12 freighter operated by Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece on July 16, 2022. None of the eight Ukrainian crew members survived the crash.
The 51-year-old An-12 transport aircraft, registered as UR-CIC, took off from Nis Constantine the Great Airport (INI) in Serbia and was heading to Amman Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), Jordan, according to Flightradar24.com. The plane’s final destination was Bangladesh.
None of the 8 crewmembers survived the crash of the Meridian An-12 (UR-CIC) near Kavala, Greece.https://t.co/GSZEtIhM8I
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) July 17, 2022
The pilot had reportedly asked for an emergency landing at Kavala Airport due to an engine failure but was unable to reach the runway on time. Local residents testified that the An-12 was on fire before the crash, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.
The accident was confirmed by Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko. Nikolenko added that the cause of the accident was a failure of one of the engines.
Serbian defense minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said that the freighter was carrying 11.5 tons of weapons and the buyer was the Bangladesh defense ministry. The minister has also denied allegations that the aircraft was carrying weapons to Ukraine.
According to a Reuters report, Denys Bogdanovych, Meridian’s general director, confirmed Serbia’s account of events that this accident was “not related to Ukraine or Russia”.