CHISINAU, July 18 – A Ukrainian light plane crashed on Tuesday near a village in Moldova, injuring two people on board and destroying most of its cargo of what were probably smuggled cigarettes, police said.
Valery Bulat, regional police commissar, told Reuters the pilot had tried to land the Antonov-2 propeller plane on a highway after smoke began pouring from an engine.
It struck power lines and crashed some 200 km north of Moldova’s capital Chisinau. The aircraft had been flying between two small Ukrainian towns and chose a route through Moldovan airspace, though it was not clear whether it had permission to do so.
Police said they found large quantities of cigarettes in the wreckage, apparently a consignment arranged by the passenger, and suspected they were smuggled.
Tobacco producers in Ukraine say illegal cigarettes accounted for more than 20 percent of the market last year and led to a six percent cut in output.
