All six people were killed when an Antonov An-148 airplane crashed Saturday on a trial flight in the village of Garbuzovo in Belgorod region, an emergencies ministry spokesman said.
Six people, including two test pilots, were on board the plane which crashed at 1040 Moscow time.
The aircraft, which belonged to the Voronezh Aircraft Plant, was being tested prior to delivery to Burma, which ordered two last year for government use, and at least two of those on board were Burmese nationals. No-one on the ground was killed, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
Federal investigators are on their way to the crash scene, Russian Investigative Committee representative Vladimir Markin said.
"An investigative team from the Lipetsk region, which is the nearest to the crash site is en route," Markin said.
The An-148 is a twin-turbofan powered regional airliner, seating up to 100 passengers.
Last year, Russian state airline GTK Rossiya strongly criticized the reliability of its An-148 aircraft, which are produced by the Voronezh plane maker and Ukraine's Kiev Aviation Plant AVIANT, citing problems with door locks, and engine and APU failures.
MOSCOW, March 5 (RIA Novosti)
