On the way to their first game. http://news.yahoo.com/russian-jet-carrying-hockey-team-crashes-43-dead-142501912.html
That's terrible, I'm sorry to see this. I have a rule, and that is never get on an airplane in Russia or Africa.
+1 We have close friends in Africa this month on a charitable task.....making me crazy thinking about the stuff they have to fly on out in the bush; but they have no option given the distances of travel required.... My (very) limited experience is the operators who fly their own equipment do the very best they can with the resources they have.....but sometimes the law of averages catches up to them (and their pax). RIP the hockey guys
Well, that plane; Yak-42; not allowed to fly in European airspace. Doesn't meet basic safety regulations. But this seems to be pilot error. Hit some sort of tower immediately after takeoff. Clear, sunny weather.
I'm going to surmise that the pilot didn't set the flaps properly for takeoff. This has led to several other accidents where the plane managed to get off the ground but was unable to gain altitude and crashed soon after.
All Yak-42's have been grounded for inspections after this crash. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/07/361731/yak-42-flights-suspended-after-fatal-yaroslavl-crash.html
Your comment makes me recall the DC-9 (or MD80) incident where the plane never gained altitude after take off and continued into a parking lot ,etc. When I saw pictures of the wreckage I could see that the flaps were not deployed and commented to my wife that they couldn't gain altitude. Perhaps this is the same scenario.
That was here in Dallas. If that was what was happening, they probably could not control a turn enough to avoid the tower they hit, either.
The one I was thinking of was in Detroit, but there have been several. When taxiing out, I'm always a bit nervous until the pilots lower the flaps and slats.
Yes, I remember Detroit where the airplane flew into a parking lot clipping off light poles until it came to a stop. The under surface of the right hand wing was in the foreground of a news photo and the external flap hinges were closed and the flap still retracted. I read later where the copilot was answering the pilot, " CHECK," as they went through the check list but when they got to the flaps being extended the answer was , "CHECK", but the operation was never activated.
Yes it was. This took place about a month after the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix. I had attended that race, picked up a rental car from the lot where the MD-80 clipped a building, and left the airport on the road where the plane crashed. A bit spooky, isn't it?
I hope it was not pilot error, after so many years in aviation it always makes me feel bad. I am sure those guys had families and did the best with what they had. RIP TO ALL PAX AND CREW.
Looks like they had the flaps set for take off. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/09/361799/crashed-yak-42-had-flaps-deployed-and-functioning-engines.html
The one here in Dallas was IIRC in the late 80s or early 90s, an American Airlines DFW flight. Same thing - flaps not set for takeoff. There were several survivors.
I saw that the Russian authorities embargoed all of the fuel at that airport, so maybe that was a factor. It was reported that the engines were functioning at the time of the crash, but how well?
Isn't atleast Aeroflot one of the safest airlines in the world? I still agree with you. I would rather walk than fly russian.
Are Russian planes really that crappy, or is it just poor maintenance? Or both? I've noticed a lot of their fighters have been falling out ofthesky lately too..albeit oldersoviet models mostly it appears Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Well, their Bears are still flying eventhough they entered service in 1956. Just had one visiting close to our borders again a few weeks back.
To me, this is a new way to crash an airplane: "Russian media reports said the investigators believe that one of the pilots accidentally activated the wheel brakes during takeoff, while another pilot pulled the plane up to a critical angle in a desperate attempt to get it into the air. The sharp maneuver caused the jet to crash immediately after takeoff."