The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into a crime under part 2 of Article 263 of the RF Penal Code (violation of safety standards for operation and traffic of air transport which entailed death of a person by negligence) after a light plane crash in Saratov Region.

According to investigators, at about 7:30 AM, 30 June 2016, an Antonov An-2 plane owned by the Krasny Kut Civil Aviation Flying School crashed while spraying the fields of Novopokrovskoye company 2 km from the settlement of Novopokrovskoye, Balashov District. The plane caught fire on the impact. Two pilots Yevgeny Belokon, 43 and Sergei Kuzlyapin, 45 died while the plane worth more than 1 million rubles was damaged beyond repair.

Investigators are carrying out investigative and search operations to find out all the details of the crime and to identify those involved. They have already examined the crash site, the bodies, the take-off spot, the fertilizer storehouse and pilots’ flats, taken samples of the fuel, questioned witnesses, confiscated technical and preflight documents relevant for the investigation.

At the moment there are two main versions of the crash: technical failure and pilot's error. The investigation is ongoing.