Moskva ulykken - ATC

Controllers Condemn Call for Prosecutions in Russian Crash

Russian prosecutors last week initiated criminal prosecution of the air traffic controllers involved in the October 20 crash of a Falcon 50EX at Moscow Vnukovo Airport. The aircraft struck a snowplow, killing three crewmembers and the single passenger on board. The Air Traffic Controllers European Union’s Coordination group (ATCEUC) condemned the decision to prosecute controllers, as did the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (Ifatca) “This decision does not respect the International Civil Aviation Organization requirement for accident investigation to establish factual causes, with the aim to prevent future occurrences,” said Ifatca. In a statement issued by the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) on October 24, the sequence of events described does not indicate any form of criminal negligence by the ATC staff on duty, according to Ifatca. The ATCEUC added that “Prosecutors are putting in danger the establishment of equilibrium between two equally relevant goals, aviation safety and the administration of justice. The future improvement of aviation safety in Russia is also at stake.”