Airline disputes finding that says crew were at fault
S7 Airlines is disputing the findings of Russian investigators, who have blamed pilot error for the July crash of one of its Airbus A310s at Irkutsk airport.
The accident happened on 9 July after the A310-300, which had arrived from Moscow Domodedovo, overran the runway and burst into flames, killing 124 passengers and crew.
The official inquiry into the accident is understood to have been completed and in a report presented to the Russian government commission, a team of experts from the Interstate Aviation Committee, France and the USA points to several mistakes made by the flightcrew during landing.
The report says: "After the touchdown, while handling the thrust reverse system, the captain mistakenly moved the control lever for the port engine and inadvertently actuated it. As a result, the engine accelerated. This gave a substantial forward thrust to the aircraft, which began to accelerate along the runway."
Investigators also say that the co-pilot lost control of the engine power and failed to promptly inform the captain of his error. "Despite having enough time at their disposal, the crew didn't take proper measures to reduce the engine's power or shut it down."
But S7 Airlines is vehemently disputing the government commission on the probe's conclusions. "We cannot recognise them as complete and comprehensive," the carrier says. "Investigators have presented a conventional version of events convenient for themselves. It fully ignores such factors as technical condition of the runway and aircraft as well as weather conditions during landing."
The airline also suggests the Interstate Aviation Committee, which is in charge of certificating aircraft and airport safety in the CIS, cannot be impartial while carrying out investigations into air accidents. "The situation where the same authority is entitled to fulfil both functions is simply unethical," it says.
Source: Flight International
