The incident happened in the Badakhshan Province, according to local authorities
FILE PHOTO: A Falcon 10 business jet. © Wikipedia
A Russian business jet has crashed in a mountainous area of Afghanistan, Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsia, has confirmed.
The crash occurred on Sunday morning in the Badakhshan Province of northeast Afghanistan, Zabihullah Amiri, the head of the local Information and Culture Department, told Tolo news agency. A search team has been sent to the area, Amiri added.
According to Rosaviatsia, the aircraft is a Falcon 10 corporate jet, registered with a Russian company. The plane was en route from Gaya in India to Moscow via Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, it said.
Rosaviatsia’s data suggests that there were four crew members and two passengers on board.
The plane crashed due to an engine problem, the spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan Abdul Wahid Rayan said in a statement no X (formerly Twitter). He also claimed that there “seven Russians abroad” and that the aircraft belonged to a Moroccan firm.
The Falcon 10 is an early business jet from the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. It was produced between 1971 and 1989, but remains popular on the secondary market.