THE NEW HEAD of Mongolian Airlines (MIAT), Huvaahuugiin Aleksandr, has made improving the national airline's safety record the main priority of his tenure. MIAT has suffered 20 fatal air crashes in its history, the latest on 21 September when an Antonov An-24 flew into a mountainside on approach to the town of Moron, killing all 41 people on board. The crash apparently followed warnings which were ignored by the pilot.
Aleksandr highlights a catalogue of "irresponsible and negligent behaviour" among airline employees ranging from inadequate pilot training, drunkenness in the cockpit, onboard smoking by staff and passengers being allowed to board without tickets, to overloading aircraft with unpaid cargo. Almost 100 staff have been disciplined so far this year.
Among the measures already introduced are medical checks on pilots before flights, and more simulator training in a new centre established at Ulan Bator. A bonus scheme is to be set up, rewarding better pilots and those with more flying hours. Ulan Bator's airport has been upgraded with a $36 million loan from the Asian Development Bank, and some domestic airfields will be equipped with navigation systems in 1996.
MIAT also wants to add Boeing 737s to replace some of its ex-Soviet Antonov An-24s. Its mainline fleet consists of three ageing Boeing 727-200s, which are flown on MIAT's international routes to Moscow, Irkutsk, Beijing and Hohhot.
Source: Flight International
