RusAir Flight 9605

RusAir Flight 9605

A RusAir Tupolev Tu-134, similar to the aircraft involved
Accident summary
Date 20 June 2011
Summary Impacted road on approach to land by Pilot error (CFIT)
Site Besovets, Shuya Rural Settlement, Prionezhsky District, Republic of Karelia, Russia
61°52′10″N 034°08′53″E / 61.86944°N 34.14806°E / 61.86944; 34.14806Coordinates: 61°52′10″N 034°08′53″E / 61.86944°N 34.14806°E / 61.86944; 34.14806
Passengers 43
Crew 9
Fatalities 47[1][2]
Injuries (non-fatal) 5
Survivors 5[3]
Aircraft type Tupolev Tu-134A-3
Operator RusAir
Registration RA-65691
Flight origin Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow
Destination Petrozavodsk Airport, Petrozavodsk

RusAir Flight 9605 (also RusLine Flight 243) was a passenger flight which crashed near Petrozavodsk Airport, Petrozavodsk, Russia, on 20 June 2011. 47 of the 52 on board died. The aircraft involved, a Tupolev Tu-134A-3, was operating a RusAir scheduled domestic flight (as a RusLine service) from Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, to Petrozavodsk. It crashed on approach in bad weather, coming down on A133 highway about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) short of the runway, shortly after 23:40 local time (19:40 UTC).[3] As a result of the crash, all Tu-134s were to be withdrawn from commercial service in Russia.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Tupolev Tu-134A-3, registration RA-65691, c/n 63195. It was manufactured and first flown in 1980.[3]

Incident

Wreck of the crashed aircraft with houses visible on the background

The aircraft crashed onto the A133 highway while on final approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) short of the runway.[1][3][4] The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The crash happened about midnight local time[1] in reportedly poor weather, including heavy fog[5][6][7] and the aircraft had apparently attempted to land on the highway before crashing.[4][8] The head of the federal air transport agency said the plane had hit a 15-metre (49 ft) tall pine tree before it crashed, adding that there was no fire or explosion on board the aircraft before the incident.[9]

According to airport officials, the plane was flying off-course by about 200 metres (660 ft) and started its descent much earlier than appropriate. Petrozavodsk ground control said they recommended the pilots take a second approach due to the low visibility and bad weather conditions. The pilot, according to the official, replied that he would attempt the first approach and said he could land the plane.[10] According to the office of the emergency ministry in Karelia, the republic in which the incident occurred, radio contact with the plane had been lost at 23:40 local time (19:40 UTC), shortly before the aircraft crashed.[3][8]

Casualties

Rescue operations at Ramenskoye airport

There were 43 passengers and nine crew members on board, a total of 52, of which 47 were killed and the remaining 5 injured.[3][9] Of the survivors, one was a flight attendant. The other crew members were among the fatalities.[11]

Dead and injured by country[12]
Nationality Dead Injured
Russia Russian 38 5
Russia Russian / United States American (multiple citizenship) 4
Ukraine Ukrainian 2
Belarus Belarusian 1
Netherlands Dutch 1
Sweden Swedish 1
Total 47 5

Three people who survived the initial crash later died of their injuries.[13]

Notable casualties

FIFA football referee Vladimir Pettay was among the dead,[14] as well the CEO and chief designer of Gidropress Sergei Ryzhov, and the deputy CEO and chief designer, Gennady Banyuk, also the chief designer of the Russian VVER-1000 for the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India and Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, Nikolai Trunov.[15][16]

Aftermath

By around 01:00 on 21 June, the fire at the crash site was extinguished. Those injured were initially sent to local hospitals, but it was planned to transport them on to Moscow via an Ilyushin Il-76 with doctors and psychologists on board.[3]

On 23 June, at a conference of senior Russian government officials, it was announced that as a result of the incident the government planned to remove all Tu-134s from commercial service, as well as ban the operation of aircraft carrying more than nine people or weighing more than 5,700 kilograms (12,600 lb) lacking a ground proximity warning system.[17]

Investigation

In September 2011, the report into the crash was published by the Interstate Aviation Committee. According to the committee, the primary cause of the incident was the refusal of the crew to perform a go-around and further descent below the minimum safe altitude in the absence of visual contact with the approach lights and landmarks, which led to collision with trees and terrain.

The contributing factors included:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Air crash in north-west Russia claims 44 lives, RT, 21 June 2011
  2. "Child survivor of Russian air crash dies". ABC News. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Crash: Rusair T134 at Petrozavodsk on Jun 20th 2011, impacted road short of runway". The Aviation Herald. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 "44 Killed in Russian Plane Crash, Agencies Say". The New York Times. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  5. Russia plane crash kills 44, pilot error, weather likely to blame, RIAN, 21 June 2011
  6. Wang, Guanqun (21 June 2011). "Plane crash kills 44, injures 8 in northern Russia". Xinhua. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  7. SAPA, 24 (21 June 2011). "Fog suspected in Russia crash". News24. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Plane crash in north-west Russia kills 44". BBC News. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  9. 1 2 Update: Plane crash in northwest Russia kills 44, including 8 foreigners, RIAN, 21 June 2011.
  10. Pilot error may have caused Karelia plane crash, RT, 21 June 2011.
  11. YLE TV News, 20:30, 21 June 2011.
  12. Список пассажиров и экипажа самолета (по состоянию на 08:00 мск 21.06.2011 г.) Ту-134, совершившего жесткую посадку под Петрозаводском (in Russian). Ministry of Emergency Situations. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  13. "Refined list of passengers and crew members (as of 09:00 MSK 22 June 2011) Тu-134, crash landed in Petrozavodsk." Ministry of Emergency Situations. Retrieved on 22 June 2011.
  14. "RF Football Union condoles over death of FIFA referee in air crash". ITAR-TASS. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  15. "44 killed in Russian plane crash". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  16. "OKB "GIDROPRESS" officials, who flew on business to Petrozavodsk, are listed among the deceased of the flight Moscow-Petrozavodsk performed by "Rusaero" airlines". Gidropress. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  17. "Russia orders Tu-134 withdrawal after fatal crash". Flight International. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  18. "DТу-134 RA-65691 21.06.2011". mak.ru.
  19. Tutkijat: Petroskoin lentoturma oli miehistön syytä. (‘Investigators: The Petrozavodsk Air Crash Was Caused by the Crew.’) Helsingin Sanomat, 20 September 2011, p. B 1.
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