–
A Russian plane has crashed into a cliff off the Kamchatka Peninsula.
28 people were on board. According to Russian authorities, there are no survivors.
– That they have not been able to keep the height indicates ice formation, says flight safety expert Hans Kjäll.
Parts of the plane, an Antonov An-26 with two large propeller engines, have been found 5 kilometers from the runway.
On Tuesday, wreckage of the fuselage was found next to a rock cliff, and other parts floating in the Okhotsk Sea, according to the news agency AP.
The plane was on its way from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in Kamtjatka in the Russian Far East.
– That they found aircraft parts in the sea and on land means that they crashed at the coastline. Something must have happened there during the approach, says Hans Kjäll, flight safety expert.
—-The plane crashed into the rock wall.
–Photo: ITAR-TASS TT NEWS AGENCY–
–
“Should have interrupted the approach”
It was both foggy and cloudy when the plane lost contact with the air traffic control and disappeared from the radar, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
Hans Kjäll believes that ice has formed on the plane, which has caused it to lose altitude. He believes that the pilot should have interrupted the approach.
– It may be that both engines stopped, but it is an extreme case. Many pilots see that they have difficulty re-planning their flight. Especially in Russia, people are perhaps more regular than in the West, where it is easier to improvise, he says.
– Everything is hypotheses at the moment. We have no evidence. It is always a good idea to wait for a preliminary accident report.
Children among the 28 dead
The airline’s deputy director has said that the plane “practically crashed into a sea cliff” that was not part of the runway, and a criminal investigation has been initiated according to Russian routine, writes AP.
Six crew members and at least one child must have been among the 28 passengers on board, according to Al Jazeera. According to Russian authorities, even the highest political leader in Palana was on the plane, writes AP.
At lunchtime on Tuesday, the authorities announced that there are no survivors, writes Reuters. According to the AP, no bodies have yet been found.
—-The accident plane was of the type Antonov An-26.
–Photo: AP–
–
Alcohol behind previous plane crashes
The crashed plane has been used since 1982 and according to the airline must have been airworthy without technical problems. The crew was also qualified.
According to the AP, a similar accident occurred with the same airline in 2012, in which 10 of 14 passengers died. Then alcohol was found in the blood of both deceased pilots.
But flight safety expert Hans Kjäll does not think that is the case this time.
– They have increased the security checks in Russia, there have been some accidents where they thought that alcohol was in the picture, but they have tightened the controls and it is quite rare at the moment, he says.
– Here it sounds like weather may have been a factor in combination with the terrain. In general, flight safety is worse in Russia than in Europe, but it is now quite high.
—
