Romanian plane crashes, Alabama partnered with Romania

A Romanian aircraft crashed near the Black Sea during a military training mission on Monday.

According to the BBC, the Antonov AN-2, a military plane, was carrying paratroopers for training, but crashed shortly after takeoff.

BBC reported that 10 were killed and the three survivors had jumped out before the crash.

Romanian is partnered with the Alabama National Guard through the State Partnership for Peace Program.

Members of the Alabama Guard and the state government routinely travel to Romania and teams of Romanians come here to learn about military, government and other programs.

The SPP program evolved from the Partners for Peace program established in the early 1990s and was furthered by a 1993 decision to send reserve soldiers and airmen to the Baltic region. At that time, military officials said it would appear less aggressive to the new Russian Federation, according to an information paper from the National Guard Bureau.

The program continued when the NGB paired state national guards with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Romania and Alabama have been partners since 1994 and the program now includes 56 partnerships.

During the partnership, Romania has been accepted into NATO and the European Union.