AP EXCLUSIVE: Reports show Russia’s terrible aviation record
A 2018 report by the Interstate Aviation Committee, a group that oversees air safety standards in countries that make up the former
Another report reviewing data for 2018, released by the
The former Soviet region (CIS) fared slightly better in a review of data from 2013-18, placing just above
But at least once a year, Russian travelers are served a bleak reminder of this grim reality.
"In
Sunday's disaster was just the latest example of this, as only 37 of the 78 people aboard survived when an Aeroflot SSJ100 plane heading from
Investigators quoted in the Russian press said Tuesday that preliminary results on the possible cause of Sunday's plane fire won't be available until next week, with a full report at least another month away.
But on Tuesday, discussions about pilot error — a common, well-documented theme in Russian aviation disasters — dominated the domestic media. Barabanov said he could not think of more than a single Russian plane crash in the past 20 years that could be attributed to a true equipment malfunction.
Questions about the technical competence of the SSJ100's design arose, while witness accounts of Sunday's disaster have painted a picture of some technical failures compounded by possible human error.
Vladimir Evmenkov, the mayor of Severomorsk, a town on
"There were two very loud blows and two flashes, but the engine did not catch fire," Evmenkov said. "I do not know if it continued working after that, but it didn't catch on fire, that is for sure."
The pilot reportedly lost communications and some automated flight controls, forcing him to take manual control of the plane, but it was not clear there was a direct and imminent threat to safety.
This is where technical questions about the airworthiness of the SSJ100 come into play. Lightning strikes are common and planes are designed to discharge the energy in electric strikes through their wings or tail section. It is not clear why the Sukhoi-built SSJ100 would have failed to do this.
After circling
"A strong vertical blow actually pushes the entire strut into the bottom panel of the fuel caisson," he wrote in a post. This leads to "an abundant leak of fuel directly onto the engine, and as the landing gear collapses, the engine grinds against the concrete, causing a spark."
Much Russian media speculation has focused on reports that the plane took off from Sheremetyevo with nearly a full tank but did not burn enough fuel before attempting to make an emergency landing, making it too heavy to survive a hard landing.
But
A person close to the Russian SSJ100 aviation investigation told the RBC news outlet Tuesday that interviews with the pilots revealed several errors that contributed to the severity of Sunday's accident, leading investigators to look closely at Aeroflot's pilot training program.
Those errors included failing to shut off the engines upon landing and opening their cockpit window, which could have exacerbated the fire.
Russian officials and experts have maintained public confidence in the plane and its design.
The design of the SSJ100 is relatively new — dating back to 2011 — and leans heavily on Western designs and components. Much of the planes' hardware — its avionics and landing gear, as well as the entire cabin interior — is imported for final assembly by Sukhoi, one of
But
Sukhoi has only produced 138 of the jets since 2011, but needs an annual production rate of 60 planes a year to break even, according to
That means the state-owned Sukhoi is producing the planes at a loss. Aeroflot also loses money operating the planes, according to Luzin.
"Each SSJ100 only spends about 3-4 hours in flight (per day)," Luzin noted, "while a
But no matter how advanced the MC-21 may be, without addressing
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