Friday 4 October 2019

RUSSIA: Aeroflot Captain Charged After Fatal Landing Accident At Sheremetyevo Airport

Criminal investigators have charged the captain of an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 in connection with the fatal landing accident at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport earlier this year.

The Murmansk-bound aircraft returned to Sheremetyevo after a lightning strike but bounced heavily during the landing, igniting spilled fuel when the landing-gear collapsed.

Forty-one of the 78 occupants did not survive the accident.

The captain had taken manual control of the Superjet after the lightning strike but the investigation has highlighted heavy-handed and abrupt inputs to the side-stick during the approach and touchdown.

Russia's federal Investigative Committee says that the aircraft made a rough landing, adding that the captain's actions to control the jet were in violation of established rules and led to the airframe damage and the outbreak of fire.

It states that he is being charged with a crime relating to breaches of air transport safety rules which, as a result of negligence, resulted in two or more fatalities.

Ten of those on board received injuries of varying severity, says the committee, which adds that the criminal investigation is continuing.

Tourism Observer

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