Russian An-30 spyplane crashes in Czech Republic during Open Skies mission

David Cenciotti
2 Min Read

On May 23, at 11.50 LT, a Russian Air Force An-30B (registration 04 black) took fire after skidding off the runway on landing at the Czech air force base in Caslav, 20 miles east of Prague.

Of the 23 people on board (14 Russians and 9 Czechs), five Russians and one Czech national have suffered injuries, mostly burns. The plane and Russian officials were in the Czech Republic on a regular monitoring mission.

Indeed, the aircraft was involved in a mission in the skies of the Czech Republic under the Open Skies Treaty. Signed in 1992, at the initiative of President Bush, the Treaty established a regime of unarmed observation flights over the territories of its 34 member states to promote transparency of military forces, installations and activities.

During such flights, that feature the typical OSY (Oscar Sierra Yankee) radio callsign, Russian/US and local officials on board the plane monitor the implementation of agreements on the use of technical equipment for the observation.

Aircraft involved in such monitoring missions (An-30, Tu-154, C-130J etc.), carrying special cameras and sensors, may be provided by either the observing or observed nation (at the latter’s choice).

Image credit: AP Photo/CTK, Josef Vostarek

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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