ATR-72 Crew To Last Moment Tried To Avert Crash
The crew of the ATR-72 passenger plane that crashed outside Tyumen, until the last minute kept composure and tried to prevent the loss of the aircraft and passengers, Deputy Director General, Flight Director of the UTair air carrier Alexander Stefanyuk said at a press conference on Friday.
"I've been at the scene and I can confidently say that it was not a haphazard fall," Stefanyuk said.
The company representatives have again named ground icing of the aircraft's wing and stabiliser as the main cause of the accident.
De-icing from now on will be mandatory for all aircraft of the UTair airline. "The circular orders will shortly be sent to all airports," General Director of UTair-Technic Vladimir Shabalin said. UTair Director General Andrei Martirosov had earlier announced this decision.
"The company decided to transfer to the system of procedural restrictions on the preparation of aircraft before takeoff," he told reporters. According to him, de-icing of planes will be carried out "always, regardless of the actual state of the aerodynamic surfaces of aircraft or decisions of the dispatcher brigade or the plane's crew."
"Several airlines in the world practice this. In particular, those who work in moderate climate conditions, when 200-300 days during the year airplanes fly in icing conditions," Martirosov stressed.
On April 2, ATR-72 plane, flying from Tyumen to Surgut, crashed soon after takeoff from the airport of Roshchino. It carried 39 passengers and four crewmembers. A total of 31 people were killed in the crash, 12 survived. One of the injured was transported to Moscow for treatment by a special plane of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM).
The accident occurred at 07:35, local time (01:35 UTC), about 2 km southwest of the end of the main runway, near the village of Gorkovka. The crew attempted an emergency landing about one mile from the airport. All twelve survivors sustained critical injuries. They were taken to the Tyumen hospital. UTair had sold 40 tickets for the flight, but a passenger from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area failed to arrive on time. Nikolai Medvedev, a member of the board of Surgutneftegaz, was among the passengers.
Criminal proceedings were instituted over the plane crash. The investigation is underway, all the works at the accident scene have been completed. The plane's wreckage will be transported to the airport.
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