Aviastar-TU RA-64011 Tu-204. |
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 March 2010 |
| Type | Controlled flight into terrain, Pilot error |
| Site | near Aviagorodok, Russia |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Injuries | 8 (4 serious, 4 minor) |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 8 (all) |
| Aircraft type | Tupolev Tu-204 |
| Operator | Aviastar-TU |
| Tail number | RA-64011 |
| Flight origin | Hurghada International Airport, Hurghada, Egypt |
| Destination | Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia |
Aviastar-TU Flight 1906 was a Tupolev Tu-204, registration RA-64011, which crash-landed while attempting to land at Domodedovo airport, Moscow, Russia, in conditions of fog and poor visibility. The aircraft was on a flight from Hurghada International Airport, Egypt to Domodedovo. There were no passengers on board and all eight crew survived the accident. Four crew members were seriously injured and taken to a hospital. The remaining four were also injured, but just slightly. The accident was the first hull loss of a Tu-204 and the first hull loss for Aviastar-TU.[1]
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The accident aircraft was Tupolev Tu-204-100, msn 1450741364011, registration RA-64011. The aircraft first flew as RA-64011 on 25 March 1993. On 3 September 1993 it entered service with Vnukovo Airlines. In January 2001, it was sold to Sibir Airlines. In January 2002, the aircraft was damaged in a runway overshoot incident following an engine failure during final approach to Omsk airport.[2] From August 2006 the aircraft was leased to various Russian airlines - Red Wings Airlines, Aviastar-TU, Interavia Airlines and then Aviastar-TU again.[3]
Aviastar Flight 1906 was a ferry flight with only eight crew on board the aircraft.[4] At 02:34 local time (23:34 on 21 March UTC),[5] the plane crash-landed [6] about 1 kilometer short of a runway at Domodedovo airport while attempting to land at night in fog and poor visibility.[7] The METAR in force at the time was METAR UUDD 212330Z 16003MPS 0100 R14R/0450N R14L/0700U FG VV001 03/02Q1002 64290050 14290045 NOSIG=.[5][8]
Two crew members received serious, though not life-threating, injuries; two others were taken to hospital where they were described as being in a satisfactory condition. The four remaining crew members were treated for minor injuries in Domodedovo's medical center.[4] The accident resulted in the first hull loss of a Tupolev Tu-204 and the first hull loss for Aviastar-TU.[3]
Despite the adverse weather, Russian federal air transport service Rosaviatsia says the aircraft conducted a normal approach and "the crew did not report any failures, malfunctions, or the intention to make an emergency landing."[7] Russia's top investigator said on 22 March that the emergency landing may have been caused by an infringement of safety rules.[4] The method the crew used to navigate the aircraft is a particular avenue of the investigation into the accident.[9]
Rosaviatsia says the flight recorders have been recovered and sent to the Interstate Aviation Committee (Russian: Межгосударственный авиационный комитет (МАК)) for analysis. The investigation is ongoing but in the interim the owner airline – Aviastar-TU – was banned, with immediate effect, from conducting passenger transport, and an examination of the airline is to be carried out.[7] Preliminary analysis of flight data shows the aircraft was not destroyed in the air by fire or explosion and both engines were operational before impact. [10] According to the chief of the Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko the "human factor" is the likely reason behind the crash. [11]
On 30 March 2010, it was reported that the aircraft had 9 tonnes of fuel on board at the time of the crash. On approach to Domodedovo, the autoflight system failed as the aircraft descended through 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). The crew then flew the aircraft manually, but did not communicate the failure of the autoflight system to Air Traffic Control.[12]
In September 2010, the МАК released their final report into the accident. The cause of the accident was attributed to pilot error, with a number of factors contributing to the accident including inadequate crew training and lack of cockpit resource management, failure of autoflight systems and serious regulatory violations by Aviastar-TU.[12][13]
In March 2011 it was announced that prosecutors had compiled a criminal case against the two pilots and forwarded it to Moscow court authorities[14].
