RusAir Flight 9605

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RusAir Flight 9605
RusAir Flight 9605.jpg
The wrecked tail section of the Tupolev with its registration partially visible
Accident
Date20 June 2011 (2011-06-20)
Summary Controlled flight into terrain due to poor crew resource management and pilot error
Site Besovets, near Petrozavodsk Airport, Petrozavodsk, Prionezhsky District, Republic of Karelia, Russia
61°52′04″N034°08′53″E / 61.86778°N 34.14806°E / 61.86778; 34.14806
Aircraft
Aircraft type Tupolev Tu-134A-3
Operator RusAir
ICAO flight No.CGI9605
Call signCGI 9605
Registration RA-65691
Flight origin Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
Destination Petrozavodsk Airport, Petrozavodsk, Russia
Occupants52
Passengers43
Crew9
Fatalities47
Injuries5
Survivors5

RusAir Flight 9605 (operating as RusLine Flight 243) was a passenger flight which crashed near Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, on 20 June 2011 while attempting to land in thick fog. The aircraft involved, a Tupolev Tu-134, was operating a RusAir scheduled domestic flight from Moscow. Of the 52 people on board, only 5 survived. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Accident

The RusAir Tu-134 was on a service for RusLine from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow to Petrozavodsk Airport. While on final approach, the aircraft crashed onto the A-133 federal highway, about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) short of the runway. [1] [4] The crash happened shortly after 23:40 local time (19:40 UTC), when contact with the jet was lost. At the time, thick fog was present in the area. [5] [6] 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.[ citation needed ]

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.[ citation needed ]

Aircraft

RA-65691, the Tu-134 involved, seen in 2009 while in service with Tatarstan Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 63195, Moskva - Domodedovo RP4901.jpg
RA-65691, the Tu-134 involved, seen in 2009 while in service with Tatarstan Airlines

The aircraft involved was a twin-engine Tupolev Tu-134A-3, registration RA-65691, c/n 63195. It was manufactured and first flown in 1980. [1]

Passengers and crew

There were 43 passengers and nine crew members on board, a total of 52, of which 47 were killed and the remaining 5 injured. [1] Of the survivors, one was a flight attendant. The other crew members were among the fatalities. [7] [8] Three people who survived the initial crash later died of their injuries. [9]

Casualties by country
NationalityFatalitiesSurvivors
Russia412
Russia / United States (dual citizenship)40
Ukraine20
Belarus10
Netherlands10
Sweden10
Total502

Among the victims was FIFA football referee Vladimir Pettay, [10] 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 Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India and Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, Nikolai Trunov. [11] [12]

Aftermath

The memorial to the victims erected next to the crash site Airport Disaster 20.06.11 Memorial near Petrozavodsk 2.JPG
The memorial to the victims erected next to the crash site

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. [1]

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. [13]

Investigation

In September 2011, the Interstate Aviation Committee published its report into the crash. The primary cause of the accident was found to be the decision by the crew to conduct the approach in meteorological conditions that were below the minimum allowed for the airfield, the aircraft, and the pilot in command. The failure of the crew to go-around and their descent below the minimum safe altitude in absence of visual contact with the approach lights or ground resulted in the collision with trees and the ultimate impact with the ground.

The contributing factors included:

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References

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  7. YLE TV News, 20:30, 21 June 2011.
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