Russia loses six crew members as nuclear-capable Tu-95 strategic bomber crashes in FLAMES minutes after takeoff
From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 30 September 2026.
The wreckage of a Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber, which killed six crew members when three of its four engines failed simultaneously on take-off during a training flight in Russia's far east.A Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bomber of the type that crashed in Russia's Amur region on Tuesday, where the sole survivor was evacuated to a medical facility after three engines failed simultaneously on take-off.
Six of the seven crew members aboard a Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber were killed when the aircraft went down in the Amur region of Russia's Far East on Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed. The plane crashed near the village of Krasnoyarovo, shortly after taking off from the Ukrainka air base, one of Russia's largest long-range aviation facilities. The sole survivor was evacuated to hospital with injuries. Unverified reports point to engine failure or a fuel explosion as the likely cause.
The crew reportedly steered the stricken aircraft away from residential buildings before it crashed in uninhabited terrain.
Russia can no longer manufacture replacement Tu-95s, meaning every lost airframe permanently shrinks a finite strategic bomber fleet already under pressure from Ukrainian drone strikes.
The Tu-95MS is the platform Russia uses to launch Kh-101 cruise missiles against Ukrainian cities — a Ukrainian drone strike destroyed another Tu-95 at Engels airfield just months ago.
