On the night of November 26, an An-2 aircraft operated by the Russian airline RusAvia came under fire near Salavat, Bashkortostan.
Local media reported on November 27 that the plane was mistaken for a Ukrainian drone.
The aircraft was conducting an authorized aerial photography mission along the Ufa-Salavat-Ufa route when it came under attack around 10:30 pm local time.
Despite the incident, the three-person crew, including two pilots and a cameraman, safely landed the plane in Ufa, about 150 kilometers away.
According to Radik Muratov, head of Salavat’s Civil Defense and Emergency Management Department, the An-2 was flying with its navigation lights on and had all necessary permissions. However, residents of Salavat mistook the low-flying aircraft for a drone, prompting calls to emergency services.
Videos circulating on local Telegram channels captured the moment gunfire erupted as the plane flew over the city, accompanied by an air raid siren.
Authorities, including Russia’s Volga Region Civil Aviation Authority, have launched an investigation into the incident.
This isn’t the first time Russian forces have miscalculated during the conflict.
Earlier, a Russian military plane accidentally dropped a 250-kilogram bomb on a school in the village of Bykovka in the Belgorod region, near the Ukrainian border.
