Two Russian Nationals Among Passengers on Jet Crashed in Afghanistan

At least Two Russians were aboard the small jet that went missing over Afghanistan, a source in operative services told state affiliated TASS agency. ”Two Russians were abroad the Dassault Falcon 10B aircraft that went missing over Afghanistan,” the source said.

The Russian private jet was carrying six people and crashed in a remote area of rural Afghanistan. It went missing with total four crew members, of those two were passengers. The Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport has said that it is in touch with Afghan, Tajik aviation authorities on aircraft incident, according to a statement.

Pilots were about to make unscheduled landing

The pilots of the plane reported technical problems and were about to make the unscheduled landing while crossing the border with Tajikistan. The he last time the plane was seen on radar was when it approached the Afghan border. The crash occurred in the mountainous area near Zebak district in Badakhshan province, Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Amiri said. He added that a rescue team was dispatched to the area. The Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia is following more information from local Afghan police. The French-made Dassault Falcon 10 jet was registered in Russia, the preliminary data suggests.

The Russian civil aviation authorities noted that the plane "stopped communicating and disappeared from radar screens.” According to The Associated Press, the plane belonged to the Athletic Group LLC and a private individual. Meanwhile Taliban said that the plane belonged to "a Moroccan company." 

A Russian passenger plane en route from India to Moscow has crashed in Afghanistan.

Gazpromavia's Falcon 900B took off from the Indian city of Gaya. The pilots reported technical problems and were about to make an unscheduled landing while crossing the border with Tajikistan.… pic.twitter.com/TrBb24zYKq

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 21, 2024

The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) January 21, 2024

Initial report by the Afghanistan's ToloNews suggested that the plane crashed may have been Indian. The Ministry of Civil Aviation wrote on X, "The unfortunate plane crash that has just occurred in Afghanistan is neither an Indian Scheduled Aircraft nor a Non Scheduled (NSOP)/Charter aircraft. It is a Moroccan registered small aircraft. More details are awaited.” The jet crashed in the mountains of Topkhana alongside the districts of Kuran-Munjan and Zibak of Badakhshan province, the senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said, as cited by ANI.