Kazan ulykken

Russian airline grounded after crash

Tatarstan Airlines, a Russian carrier, has been grounded after an investigation revealed its pilots and personnel were overworked and inadequately trained
Russian airline grounded after crash


A Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 crashed and exploded at the airport in the Tatarstan region's capital Kazan last month, killing all 44 passengers 

Russia's airline regulator said it was grounding the regional carrier last week following a crash on November 17 that killed 50 people.

A Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 crashed and exploded at the airport in the Tatarstan region's capital Kazan last month, killing all 44 passengers - including a son of the oil-producing Russia province's leader - and six crew.

The crash highlighted the poor safety record of regional airlines that ply internal routes in Russia.
The regulator Rosaviatsia said it will cancel the airline's license from December 31 after inspections revealed "violations in established flight norms, working hours and rest periods for the flight crew and qualification standards of the crew."

Crash investigators have said the pilot of the ill-fated passenger jet may have received his licence from a training centre that was later closed on suspicion of operating illegally.

They also said the plane crashed after the pilot pushed the steering column into a position that pitched it into a nosedive in an attempt to prepare for landing after an initial approach was aborted. No technical problems had been reported on the passenger jet.


The airline could not immediately be reached for comment on losing its licence. It has said the crew had plenty of experience but the lead pilot had never before been in a position in which he had to make a second landing attempt during an actual flight.