High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 2007 Balad aircraft crash was a January 9, 2007 airplane incident involving an Antonov An-26 airliner, which crashed while attempting to land at the U.S. military base in Balad, Iraq. The crash killed 34 people aboard and left one passenger critically injured. Officials claim the crash was caused by poor weather conditions, but other sources claim that this is a cover-up and the plane was actually shot down by a missile.The aircraft was an Antonov An-26B-100, registration number ER-26068. It made its first flight in 1981, and was powered by two Ivchenko AI-24VT engines. An-26s are a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft derived from the Antonov An-24, with particular attention made to potential military use. It has a modified rear fuselage with a large cargo ramp.