All 6 people onboard a VORONEZH AIRCRAFT PLANT Antonov AN148 on a Test Flight were killed when it crashed at 10:40am today, local time, in the village of Garbuzovo in Belgorod region in Russia. The aircraft burst into flames when it struck the ground and 4 hours later, the wreckage continues to smolder. The Antonov was being tested prior to delivery to Burma, which ordered 2 last year for government use. 2 of those dead were Pilots from Burma. Federal investigators are on the scene and The Prosecutor General's Office said it had launched its own probe. The AN148 is a twin-turbofan powered regional airliner, seating up to 100 passengers. The AN148 made its maiden flight in December 2004 and tests continued through December 2006. This accident is the 1st involving the newly-developed regional twinjet, deliveries of which only started in 2009.. Last year, Russian state Airline ROSSIYA, the launch customer for this version of the AN148, strongly criticized the reliability of its AN148 aircraft, which are produced by Voronezh and Ukraine's Kiev Aviation Plant AVIANT, citing problems with door locks, and engine and APU failures.
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