MOSCOW, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- A YAK-130 combat trainer plane crashed Saturday near the Borisoglebsk airfield in the Voronezh region, southwest Russia, during a training flight, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The crew steered the plane away from nearby buildings before being catapulted, a ministry statement said, adding that both pilots contacted the command immediately after landing.
A search and rescue team has been sent to help the crew, and a flight safety commission of the Russian armed forces is also starting an on-site investigation into the incident, it said.
The Interfax news agency quoted a knowledgeable source as saying that an engine failure may have caused the crash.
The YAK-130, a subsonic two-seat advanced trainer aircraft, was originally developed in the early 1990s. It entered service with the Russian air force in 2009.
