A Polish Air Force military transport aircraft has crashed, claiming the lives of all on board. The aircraft has been identified as a Spanish-built Casa C-295M – one of 10 such types in service with the air arm.

The aircraft crashed two kilometres away from the 12^th Air Base – a Polish AF base located in Miroslawiec, a town in the northwest of Poland. Its passenger contingent included officials who, earlier on, had been present at a conference on air safety.  

Reports vary, but around 20 people are thought to have been on board the aircraft, which took off earlier from Warsaw.

"Soldiers, husbands, and fathers have died, and that is the most tragic result of this catastrophe," Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said – his comment made from the site of the worst accident the Polish Air Force has suffered since the early 1970s.

Polish Transport Crashed on Rural Ground, Burst into Flames

According to one correspondent, the C-295 appeared to dramatically lose height, before coming down on rural ground. The incident occurred at about 7.00PM on the night of January 23^rd.

Given that the aircraft caught fire on impact, and the locality of the crash, rescue efforts have been limited so far.

At this stage, it is not thought that the crash was weather-related

The C-295 is a propeller-driven military transport aircraft manufactured by Spain’s Construcciones Aeronauticas SA. In addition to Poland, the type is operated by Finland, Chile, Jordan and Brazil, among others.

Source – Armed Forces International’s Aviation Expert