 The wrecked tail section of the Tupolev with its registration partially visible | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 June 2011 (2011-06-20) |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to poorcrew resource management andpilot error |
| Site | Besovets, nearPetrozavodsk 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 | |
 RA-65691, the Tu-134 involved, seen in 2009 while in service withTatarstan Airlines | |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-134A-3 |
| Operator | RusAir |
| ICAO flight No. | CGI9605 |
| Call sign | CGI 9605 |
| Registration | RA-65691 |
| Flight origin | Domodedovo International Airport,Moscow, Russia |
| Destination | Petrozavodsk Airport,Petrozavodsk, Russia |
| Occupants | 52 |
| Passengers | 43 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 47 |
| Injuries | 5 |
| Survivors | 5 |
RusAir Flight 9605 (operating asRusLine Flight 243) was apassenger flight which crashed nearPetrozavodsk in theRepublic of Karelia, Russia, on 20 June 2011 while attempting to land in thick fog. The aircraft involved, aTupolev Tu-134, was operating aRusAir scheduled domestic flight fromMoscow. Of the 52 people on board, only 5 survived.[1][2][3]
The RusAir Tu-134 was on a service forRusLine fromDomodedovo Airport in Moscow toPetrozavodsk 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 23:40local time (19:40UTC), 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]
The aircraft involved was a twin-engineTupolev Tu-134A-3,registration RA-65691,c/n 63195. It was manufactured and first flown in 1980.[1]
There were 43 passengers and nine crew members on board, a total of 52, of whom 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]
| Nationality | Fatalities | Survivors |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 41 | 2 |
| Russia / United States(dual citizenship) | 4 | 0 |
| Ukraine | 2 | 0 |
| Belarus | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 50 | 2 |
Among the victims wasFIFA football refereeVladimir Pettay,[10] as well the CEO and chief designer ofGidropress Sergei Ryzhov, and the deputy CEO and chief designer, Gennady Banyuk, also the chief designer of the RussianVVER-1000 for theKudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India andBushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, Nikolai Trunov.[11][12]
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 anIlyushin 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 aground proximity warning system.[13]
In September 2011, theInterstate 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 togo-around and their descent below theminimum 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:
Media related toRusAir Flight 9605 at Wikimedia Commons
