View source for 2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name = 2012 Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash
|occurrence_type = Accident
|image = Kazakhstan Border Guards Antonov An-72-100 Batuzak-1.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|alt =
|caption = The Kazakhstan Air Force Antonov An-72 involved in the accident
|date = {{Start-date|25 December 2012}}
|type = Crashed on descent short of runway in bad weather
|site =  [[Shymkent]], Kazakhstan
|coordinates = 
|aircraft_type = [[Antonov An-72|Antonov An-72-100]]
|aircraft_name =
|operator = [[Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan]]
|tail_number = UP-72859
|origin = [[Astana International Airport]], [[Astana]], Kazakhstan
|stopover0 =
|stopover1 =
|stopover2 =
|stopover3 =
|last_stopover =
|destination = [[Shymkent International Airport]], [[Shymkent]], Kazakhstan
|crew = 7
|passengers = 20
|injuries = 0
|fatalities = 27 (all)
|survivors = 0
}}
<!-- Per MOS:BOLDTITLE and WP:SBE, neither the article's title nor related text appears in bold. -->On 25 December 2012, an [[Antonov An-72|Antonov An-72-100]] ([[aircraft registration|registration]] UP-72859) operated by the [[Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan]], crashed about {{convert|20|km|mi}} from the [[Kazakhstan|Kazakh]] city of [[Shymkent]], where the aircraft was preparing to land.<ref name=ASN>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20121225-1 |title=Accident description |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |accessdate=26 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="afp">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g8Le2EXtf2MH7MU7Z38cQTXwj1gQ?docId=CNG.1a962f08fb17905ad4726d7afedc5cd8.e1 |title=Military plane carrying 27 crashes in Kazakhstan |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=25 December 2012 |accessdate=25 December 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6DB6wMIWk?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fafp%2Farticle%2FALeqM5g8Le2EXtf2MH7MU7Z38cQTXwj1gQ%3FdocId%3DCNG.1a962f08fb17905ad4726d7afedc5cd8.e1 |archivedate=25 December 2012 |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20842116 |title=Kazakhstan military plane crash 'kills 27' near Shymkent |accessdate=25 December 2012|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

The aircraft had been flying from Kazakhstan's capital of [[Astana]] to Shymkent and was carrying 27 people – seven crew and twenty members of the Kazakh border patrol, including its leader, the acting Director of the Kazakhstan Border Guard Service, [[Colonel]] Turganbek Stambekov.<ref name="afp"/>

The accident occurred at about 19:00 local time (1300 UTC) as the aircraft was descending to land.<ref name="reuters"/> According to local media, the aircraft had been flying at an altitude of about {{convert|800|m|ft}} when it suddenly crashed to the ground.<ref name="reuters">{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/25/kazakhstan-aircrash-idUSL5E8NP2P520121225 |title=UPDATE 2-Kazakh military plane crashes, all 27 on board killed |agency=Reuters |date=25 December 2012 |accessdate=25 December 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6DB7GsZE5?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2012%2F12%2F25%2Fkazakhstan-aircrash-idUSL5E8NP2P520121225 |archivedate=25 December 2012 |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Emergency crews were dispatched from Shymkent in response. However, the head of the local emergency services department stated that "the plane was destroyed by fire. Only fragments [were] left."<ref name="ria">{{cite web|url=http://en.ria.ru/world/20121225/178396877.html |title=Border Guard Plane Crashes in Kazakhstan, 27 Dead |agency=RIA Novosti |date=25 December 2012 |accessdate=25 December 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6DB87VSxZ?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.ria.ru%2Fworld%2F20121225%2F178396877.html |archivedate=25 December 2012 |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref> Kazakhstan's [[National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan|National Security Committee]] issued a statement confirming that all 27 people on board had died in the crash,<ref name="ria"/> and also said that an investigation into the incident has begun.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kazakhstan-military-plane-crashes-killing-27-near-border-with-uzbekistan/2012/12/25/e28fb450-4eab-11e2-835b-02f92c0daa43_story.html |title=Kazakhstan military plane crashes, killing 27 near border with Uzbekistan |work=The Washington Post |date=25 December 2012 |accessdate=25 December 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6DB89K5Ca?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2Fasia_pacific%2Fkazakhstan-military-plane-crashes-killing-27-near-border-with-uzbekistan%2F2012%2F12%2F25%2Fe28fb450-4eab-11e2-835b-02f92c0daa43_story.html |archivedate=25 December 2012 |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}</ref>

The investigation commission found out that failure of the autopilot and radio altimeter combined with poor visibility, and the pilot failing to follow instruction to use the barometric altimeter caused the crash.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pilot Error, Bad Weather Caused Shymkent Plane Crash|url=http://www.satrapia.com/news/article/pilot-error-bad-weather-caused-shymkent-plane-crash/|newspaper=The Gazette of Central Asia|date=22 January 2013|publisher=Satrapia}}</ref>

==References==
{{Portal|2010s|Kazakhstan|Aviation|Disasters}}
{{reflist}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2012}}

{{coord|42.5000|N|69.8333|E|source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:KZ|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan Antonov An-72 crash}}
[[Category:2012 in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2012]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:South Kazakhstan Region]]
[[Category:December 2012 events]]