on 27 July 2002, during which the
Sukhoi Su-27 involved struck a glancing blow against the aircraft's nose before crashing into spectators As of July 2024, the
Aviation Safety Network has tracked 137 incidents involving Il-76 series aircraft resulting in the 1,158 fatalities. 99 have been written off in crashes and other accidents. Some of the most notable incidents can be found here. • On 23 November 1979, a
Soviet Air Forces Il-76,
registration CCCP-86714, banked left during an approach to
Vitebsk Airport. Control of the aircraft was lost and the aircraft crashed, killing the crew of seven; this was the first loss of an Il-76. •
Christmas day crash. On 25 December 1979, a
Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashed 36 km from Kabul, killing 48 onboard. •
1988 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash. On 11 December 1988, an
Aeroflot Il-76 crashed on approach to
Leninakan, Armenia killing 77 of the 78 on board. The aircraft was on an air relief operation following the
1988 Armenian earthquake. •
Soviet Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 18 October 1989, a Soviet Air Force Il-76 (CCCP-76569)
crashed in the Caspian Sea off Sumqayit, Azerbaijan following wing separation caused by an engine fire, killing all 57 in Azerbaijan's deadliest air accident. The cause of the engine fire was traced back to a design flaw.
1990s • On 1 February 1990, a
Soviet Air Forces Il-76
registration СССР-86021 crashed 14 minutes after takeoff from
Panevėžys Air Base, killing all 8 members of the crew. • On 24 May 1991, a Metro Cargo Il-76TD (LZ-INK, named
Lugano), crashed near Kermanshah Airport while attempting a forced landing following fuel exhaustion, killing four of ten crew. • On 8 July 1993, a Russian Air Force Il-76M (
RA-86039) crashed near
Pskov Airport due to loss of control following an unexplained in-flight fire, killing the 11 crew. •
1995 Airstan Ilyushin Il-76 hijacking. On 3 August 1995 Taliban-controlled fighter aircraft intercepted an Airstan Ilyushin Il-76TD transport aircraft, and held its seven crew members for over a year before escaping. • On 19 August 1996,
Spair Airlines Flight 3601, an Il-76T, crashed while trying to land at
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport following total electrical failure due to pilot error, killing all 11 occupants on board. The crew had forgotten to turn on the AC/DC converter following engine startup. •
Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision. On 12 November 1996,
Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Il-76,
collided in mid-air with
Saudia Flight 763 (a
Boeing 747) over
Charkhi Dadri, India, killing all 349 aboard both aircraft in the deadliest mid-air collision. The Kazakh crew failed to maintain altitude owing to confusion with ATC. •
1996 Abakan Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 27 November 1996, a
Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76MD, registration
RA-78804, flew into the side of a mountain, minutes after it departed
Abakan Airport, and crashed from the airport. All 21 occupants on board died in the accident. • On 13 July 1998, ATI Aircompany Flight 2570, an Il-76MD (UR-76424), crashed in the sea shortly after takeoff from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, killing the eight crew. The aircraft was overloaded and the pilot failed to respond to GPWS warnings. • On 17 July 1998,
Air Sofia Flight 701, an Il-78 (UR-UCI) struck a hill on approach to Asmara International Airport, killing all ten on board. The aircraft was leased from Ukrainian Cargo Airways.
2000s •
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Flight 9064. On 2 December 2001, a military flight from
Bratsk Airport to
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport crashed at Novaya Inya, Russia, following an onboard fire, killing 18 on board. •
Rus Flight 9633. On 14 July 2001 a cargo flight from
Chkalovsky Airport crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 10 persons on board the aircraft. • On 31 January 2003 a cargo flight from
Macau to
Baucau Airport,
Timor-Leste impacted terrain while on approach, killing all six on board. •
2003 Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 19 February 2003, an Ilyushin Il-76
crashed near
Kerman, Iran under unspecified reasons (possibly weather-related). The crash killed 275 people, including hundreds of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The accident remains the deadliest involving the Il-76. •
2003 Ukrainian Cargo Airways Il-76 accident. On 8 May 2003, the rear loading ramp of an Il-76 leased by the Congolese government
unexpectedly opened at 10,000 feet after taking off from the capital Kinshasa. Initial reports stated that over 120 policemen and their families had been sucked out in 45 minutes, but 14 people actually died. •
2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash. On 23 March 2007, an Il-76 of
TransAVIAexport Airlines registered EW-78849 was reportedly
shot down (the official cause is undetermined) in the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, killing all 11 people on board. • On 30 June 2008, an Ababeel Aviation Il-76 crashed while taking off from
Khartoum on a relief flight, killing the 4 crew members, the only people on board the plane. • On 2 July 2008, Click Airways Flight 1002, operated using an Ilyushin Il-76TD from
Bagram Air Base to Al-Fujairah-Fujairah International Airport, suffered an uncontained engine failure of its no. 3 engine at FL280. The failed engine parts struck the no. 4 engine resulting in its failure, as well as the fuselage and fuel tanks. The flight crew managed to successfully make an emergency landing at Zahedan, Iran. None of the three crew sustained injuries. •
2009 Makhachkala Il-76 collision. On 15 January 2009, two
Russian Ministry of Interior Il-76MDs
were involved in a ground collision at
Makhachkala Airport. One of the aircraft,
registration RA-76825, was ready to depart and was positioned at the runway end when the other one, RA-76827, came in to land. The wing of the landing aircraft struck the flight deck of RA-76825 and a fire erupted. There were three fatalities in the departing aircraft, out of seven occupants on board. None of the 31 occupants aboard RA-76827 were hurt. RA-76825 was written off as a consequence of the accident. • On 9 March 2009, an
Aerolift Il-76 (S9-SAB) crashed into
Lake Victoria just after takeoff from
Entebbe Airport, Uganda, killing all 11 people on board. Two of the engines had caught fire on takeoff. The aircraft was chartered by Dynacorp on behalf of
AMISOM. The accident was investigated by Uganda's Ministry of Transport, which concluded that all four engines were time-expired and that Aerolift's claim that maintenance had been performed to extend their service lives and the certification of this work could not be substantiated. •
2009 Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 accident. On 22 September 2009,
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Il-76MD Adnan 2 "5-8208"
Simorgh crashed near
Varamin killing all seven people on board. The crash was possibly the result of a mid-air collision with a
Northrop F-5E Tiger II. •
2009 Yakutia Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 1 November 2009, an Il-76 belonging to the
Russian Ministry of the Interior crashed near the city of
Mirny within 2 kilometers after taking off. Eleven people on board were confirmed as killed.
2010s •
Sun Way Flight 4412. On 28 November 2010, Il-76 4L-GNI crashed in a populated area of
Karachi, Pakistan, shortly after taking off from
Jinnah International Airport. All eight people on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. The aircraft was reported to have been trying to return to Jinnah after suffering an uncontained engine failure and fire. •
Silk Way Airlines Flight 995. On 6 July 2011, an Il-76, tail number 4K-AZ55, crashed into a mountain in Afghanistan, while on final to
Bagram Air Force Base. Eight people on board were initially confirmed as killed, with one unaccounted. •
2012 Aéro-Service Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 30 November 2012, an
Aéro-Service Il-76T (also reported as being operated by
Trans Air Congo in the days after the accident)
crashed 850 meters short of runway 5L of the Congo's
Maya-Maya Airport in
Brazzaville while landing during a violent storm, killing 32, including the 5 aircrew, another person on board and 26 people on the ground. •
2014 Ukrainian Air Force Il-76 shootdown. On 14 June 2014 an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft of the
25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down on approach to land at
Luhansk International Airport, Ukraine. •
2016 Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations Il-76 crash. On 1 July 2016, a Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) Il-76TD (RA-76840)
struck a hillside near Rybnyi Uyan while fighting wildfires near Irkutsk, killing all ten on board. •
2018 Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 11 April 2018,
Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76
7T-WIV crashed shortly after take-off from
Boufarik Airport,
Boufarik,
Algeria. All 257 people on board were killed, making the accident the deadliest air crash on Algerian soil.
2020s • 25 February 2022, during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Special Communications Agency and US officials claimed that Russian Il-76s were shot down over
Bila Tserkva. As of September 2022, no wreckage of the planes has been found. • 4 April 2022, photographs of two destroyed Il-76s from the Ukrainian
25th Transport Aviation Brigade were displayed; these cargo planes were destroyed on the ground by Russian forces at Melitopol Airport. •
2022 Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 24 June 2022,
Russian Aerospace Forces Il-76MD
RF-78778 crashed and caught fire while landing near the city of
Ryazan following an engine fire, killing five of nine on board. • 30 August 2023, four Il-76s were reportedly destroyed by Ukrainian kamikaze
drone strikes at
Pskov Airport. •
2023 Gao Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 23 September 2023, an Il-76 operated by the Malian Armed Forces
crashed upon landing at Gao Airport,
Mali. According to the French newspaper
Le Monde, Malian officials confirmed the aircraft's being owned by the
Army and having
Wagner Group members on board. The aircraft overshot more than half of the available runway before touching down. For reasons unknown the crew failed to execute a go-around in due time which led to the aircraft rolling down the embankment at the end of the runway. The aircraft exploded killing all personnel on board. • On the night of 19–20 October 2023, a Il-76MD military transport plane caught fire during take-off from a military airfield in
Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. A wheel exploded on the plane during acceleration, causing a fire to break out. The plane rolled out of the runway and burned down completely. It is known that there were eight people on board. The crew was not injured. •
2024 Korochansky Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 24 January 2024, a
Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crashed in the
Korochansky District in the
Belgorod Oblast of Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated it was carrying 65
Ukrainian Armed Forces POW, with 6 crew members and 3 security forces at the time. This was refuted by Ukrainian sources citing flight direction, photos of the crash site and other classified information leaked from Russia. •
2024 Ivanovo Ilyushin Il-76 crash. On 12 March 2024, an Il-76
crashed in
Ivanovo oblast. According to
RIA Novosti, the engine caught on fire after the take-off from the
Ivanovo air base, and the aircraft crashed when attempting an emergency landing back at the air base. There were eight crew members and seven passengers. All eight crew and seven passengers were killed in the crash. •
2024 New Way Cargo Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 shootdown. On 21 October 2024, an Il-76 was shot down over
Sudan killing all five crew members onboard. • On 6 May 2025, a Yemen Air Force Il-76TD was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. ==Aircraft on display==