A clip widely circulating on social media appears to show a Russian military transport aircraft falling apart just before it crashed northeast of Moscow earlier this month.
The brief video appears to have been posted by a local Russian Telegram account on Sunday, attributed to CCTV cameras close to the crash site. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage.
An An-22 Soviet-era military transport aircraft crashed into a reservoir in Russia's Ivanovo region on December 9 during a test flight, Russian authorities said. All those on board were killed, officials said.
State media reported seven people were on the aircraft at the time. Russia's investigative committee said an investigation into flight preparedness had been launched.
Russia's RIA Novosti state news outlet reported the aircraft came down close to the settlement of Ivankovo, in the central Russian region. The village sits on the northern edge of a reservoir.
The video clip appears to show the aircraft in two pieces just moments before it strikes the water of the reservoir. The aircraft "disintegrated in the air," Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported earlier in December.
The first few seconds of the clip show the two parts of the aircraft plummeting into the water in a snow-covered, remote area. Water visibly surges into the air as the aircraft hits the surface of the reservoir.
The video then shows a snippet that appears to have been filmed by a different camera, showing the aircraft heading toward the water over what look to be residential homes. A final frame in the video appears to capture the aircraft falling into separate parts while still in the air.
A Kremlin-linked Telegram channel reported the aircraft had just undergone repairs. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Investigators found the remains of the aircraft roughly five meters underwater and approximately 150 meters from the edge of the reservoir, RIA Novosti reported.
A Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft crashed in the Ivanovo region in March 2024, killing the 15 people on board.
The 57-meter-long aircraft was built in 1975 and had logged close to 6,500 flight hours, according to state media. The massive turboprop An-22 first flew back in 1965 and was initially produced in Uzbekistan.
The Kommersant newspaper reported the crashed aircraft had been in service for more than 50 years and that it was the only remaining An-22 in military service.
A senior Russian commander had said in mid-2024 that the Russian military would fully retire its scant remaining fleet of An-22s by the end of that year.