With eight crew members on board, the aircraft with registration RA-64032 was set to depart Hangzhou International Airport as flight 4B-6534 to Novosibirsk in Russia when a fire started in the cabin as it was being pushed back for departure.
After the fire started, emergency services and relevant airport departments were quickly contacted, and the firefighting department and first aid arrived on the scene within two minutes. After roughly 30 minutes, the fire was brought under control.
All passengers and crew members were successfully evacuated, and no minor injuries were sustained as a result of the event.
The fire spread throughout the fuselage, shattering the plane into three pieces.
According to reports, this is the third hull loss for a Tupolev Tu-204 and the second for Aviastar.
Aviastar Tupolev Tu-204F (RA-64032, built 2002) was destroyed when a fire broke out inside the cabin during pushback for departure at Hangzhou Airport (ZSHC), China. The crew evacuated safely. Flight #4B6534 to Novosibirsk burnt to destructon.https://t.co/6mlGcrTXg2 pic.twitter.com/p3dohcXZue
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) January 8, 2022
A cargo plane caught fire at #Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 4:40am today. The fire happened in the cabin when the plane was taxiing. 8 crew members were rescued from the plane. pic.twitter.com/sW31etaWoX
— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) January 8, 2022
Cover image: via JACDEC/Twitter
