At least five Diamond aircraft incidents in Orenburg region in five years

Incidents with Diamond aircraft, like the one that crashed on February 2 in Orsk, are not uncommon in the Orenburg region. Over the past five years, there have been at least four other non-standard situations in the region, but only one ended in tragedy — today«s, when a pilot-instructor and two cadets died. We have gathered in one article all the emergencies that have occurred in Orenburg region with such aircraft. And we also tell about the plane itself.

What kind of plane is this

The Diamond DA-40 is a modern Austrian four-seat single-engine piston aircraft made of composite materials. It is widely used for training, private flights, and aeroclubs due to its high reliability, safety, modern diesel or gasoline engine, and glass cockpit equipment. It is popular among academies not only in Russia but also in Ukraine, Malaysia, the UAE, Turkey, and China.

Characteristics:

Number of seats: 4 (pilot and 2 passengers, or 2 pilots and 2 passengers);

Maximum mass: 1280 kilograms (approx. 2822 lb);

Load capacity: 340 kilograms (approx. 750 lb);

Wingspan: 11.63 meters (38.2 ft);

Length: 8.06 meters (26.4 ft);

Height: 1.97 meters (6.5 ft);

Fuel capacity: 106 liters;

Propeller diameter: 1.90 meters (6.2 ft).

August and October 2021

The first significant episode occurred on August 2, 2021 at 12:10 at the Buguruslan Flight School (jumping ahead, let«s say that all emergencies, except the tragedy in Orsk, are related to aircraft from this »flight school«). Then, during acceleration, the Diamond DA-40NG aircraft rolled beyond the limits of the Buguruslan — Main runway. The aircraft was not damaged, and the pilot-instructor and cadet were also unharmed.

The second episode — on October 22, 2021 at 10:35. During a training flight on exactly the same Diamond DA-40NG, the crew did not reach the end of the artificial runway. The aircraft landed 2 kilometers from the Buguruslan — North airfield. The pilot-instructor and cadet also got off with a fright.

2023 — landing in corn

Another episode occurred on September 27, 2023 — also in the area of the Buguruslan — North airfield. Then after takeoff, the crew noticed that the engine began to operate unstably with a drop in power. They had to recall the feat of Hero of Russia and graduate of the Buguruslan flight school Damir Yusupov, who landed a huge Ural Airlines liner in a cornfield, and perform exactly the same maneuver, albeit with a much smaller aircraft.

Successfully: the Diamond DA-40 (with registration number RA-02571) landed a kilometer from the village of Zavyalovka and got off with only a broken lighting fixture; no one was hurt.

July 2025

On July 31 last year in the area of the same airfield, the crew of a Diamond DA-40 also had to land in a field. On board were a pilot-instructor and a cadet. Fortunately, then too there were no casualties. Deputy head of the Buguruslan district for operational issues, construction, housing and communal services, transport and communications Andrey Ivanov said that the aircraft had damage.

— They had an engine failure and they made an emergency landing off the runway. There are no casualties. […] They did not reach the runway, landed in a field. As far as I know, the landing gear was damaged, — said Ivanov to colleagues from TASS.

And indeed: the aircraft had damage specifically to the landing gear and the takeoff propeller. For each case, checks were carried out by the Central Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Ural Transport Prosecutor«s Office.

Tragedy in Orsk

On February 2, 2026 at 12:51, a message was received by the «112» dispatcher about the crash of a Diamond DA-40 aircraft with registration number RA-02673. It crashed in the area of the village of Dzhanatalap. According to unofficial preliminary data, the cause of the crash could have been a stall.

A stall is a critical flight mode in which, due to too high an angle of attack, the airflow over the wing is disrupted (flow separation), leading to a sharp loss of lift. As a result, the aircraft begins to «fall,» vibrate, spontaneously bank, lower its nose, and, in the absence of pilot action, enter a spin.

On board were three people: 36-year-old Vasily N. (pilot-instructor), as well as 21-year-old Dmitry S. and 20-year-old Timofey K. (cadets).

All three died: Timofey«s father spoke with colleagues from E1.RU, and Dmitry»s mother — with colleagues from MSK1.RU. The head of Orsk Artem Vorobyov and Governor Yevgeny Solntsev promised to provide any assistance to the relatives and close ones of the deceased. Condolences were also expressed by the head of Buguruslan Dmitry Dyachenko — it is in this city that the flight school is located, whose aircraft emergencies we described above.

The crashed aircraft belonged to the St. Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation. A pre-investigation check is being conducted, and Rosaviation classified the incident as a catastrophe. The investigation will be handled by the Interstate Aviation Committee.

All news on the topic of the crash in Orsk is collected in a separate section.