Bucharest , Romania ( CNN ) -- A Romanian military plane crash near the Tuzla Romania Airport by the Black Sea has killed 11 people , including air force Col. Nicolae Jianu , and injured three more , the Ministry of Defense said Monday . Shortly after takeoff around 5:40 p.m. local time , the Antonov 2 plane with five air force crew members and nine navy paratroopers on board suddenly lost altitude and hit the ground , bursting into flames . The plane belonged to the Romanian air force application school Aurel Vlaicu in Boboc . Jianu was the commanding officer there and a flight instructor , the Defense Ministry said . The AN 2 took off from the Tuzla airfield for a regular training flight , the ministry said . The survivors , an airman and two sailors , have been recovered and taken to a hospital , a ministry spokesman said . The minister of national defense has appointed a commission to investigate the crash , and he and the chief of general staff have expressed their deepest sorrow for the loss of the troops and conveyed their condolences to the grieving families , according to a ministry statement . Jianu was married , with two children . Journalist Cosmin Stan contributed to this report from Romania .
NEW : Air force Col. Nicolae Jianu among the dead . The attack came as a surprise to many in Romania, who had been expecting an assault on the capital of Bucharest or at least some sort of military action against the country's ethnic Albanian minority. The plane was being used for parachute training for the Romanian military . Romanian defense minister appoints commission to investigate crash .