AROUND 50 people died when a Stavropolskaya Aktsionernaya Avia Antonov An-24RV crashed on 18 March, 42min into a flight from Stavropol, near Chechnya in southern Russia, to Trabzon, northern Turkey.
Air-traffic controllers reported a prolonged buzz on the local communications frequency, a signal which pilots can send if they fear a hijack attempt. Seconds after this signal, contact was lost, says the official news agency. The captain was an experienced transport pilot with some 9,000h flying time.
The turbobrop aircraft, manifested as carrying 41 passengers and nine crew, is reported have been flying at 17,700ft (5,400m) in the cruise when contact was lost. Wreckage of the aircraft (RA46516), which was built in 1967, has been found widely spread, with the tail 3km (1.6nm) from the main wreckage. The aircraft had recently been on extended charter in the Congo, and then undergone tail-section repairs.
Flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders have been recovered. The flight was a regular charter service, carrying "shuttle-traders" obtaining cheap consumer goods in Turkey.
Source: Flight International
