YEREVAN. – Four of the crewmembers of the plane, which crashed Wednesday in South Sudan, had worked at Air Armenia CJSC until 2014.

The company’s deputy director for flights, Vardges Avetisyan, told the abovementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“In 2014, the [Armenian government-affiliated General] Department [of Civil Aviation (GDCA)]  banned the [Antonov] An-12 -type aircraft’s operation in Armenia,” Avetisyan said. “[As a result,] the staff became unemployed, and [therefore] started working in other [airline] companies on contractual basis.”

In his words, crewmembers Gevorg Tovmasyan, Samvel Hambardzumyan, Suren Petrosyan, and Samvel Mkrtchyan were seasoned and well-trained professionals.

Press secretary of the GDCA, Ruben Grdzelyan, had told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the Soviet-era Antonov-12 transport plane has no Armenian registration, and the airlines that are registered in Armenia have no such aircraft. 

Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned that this cargo plane belonged to Garnik Papikyan, who is the proprietor of the Taron Avia airline.

Dozens of people, including the aircraft’s crewmembers and passengers as well as people on the ground, were killed in the plane crash in South Sudan.

According to preliminary information, the cargo aircraft’s crewmembers included Armenians. They were First Pilot and aircraft commander Gevorg Tovmasyan, Second Pilot Samvel Hambardzumyan, Engineer Samvel Mkrtchyan, and Technicians Armen Antonyan, and Suren Petrosyan.