Mon, Feb 19, 2007
Holiday Crash Killed 170
Pilot error led a Russian jet to crash last August, killing all
170 passengers and crew, according to an official Russian
government report published Saturday.
The Russian-made Tu-154, operated by Russian carrier Pulkovo
Airlines, was flying vacationers home from Russia's Black
Sea resort of Anapa when it crashed August 22 in eastern Ukraine,
reported Reuters.
The Russian government launched an inquiry into aviation safety
following the tragedy.
The report issued by Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee said
the crew pushed the aircraft beyond its limits as they attempted to
fly around a thunder storm.
"The reason for the disaster ... was the steering of the
aircraft under manual control into an angle of attack that was
beyond critical, a stall, and the subsequent transition into a flat
spin and a collision with the ground," the report said.
"A failure to monitor flight speed and non-compliance with
instructions .... on preventing the aircraft stalling ... made it
impossible to stop the situation becoming catastrophic," said the
report.
Although it was initially reported that the storm caused the
plane to crash, the accident report claimed the weather should not
have been a major problem. It also made note of the shortcomings in
the pilots' training.
Safety standards in Russian civil aviation were said to have
plummeted after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with substantial
improvement since. Last year, however, there were three major
crashes in Russia or involving Russian airlines that killed 405
people.
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