Aviastar-TU Flight 1906
Encyclopedia
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.
, 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. From August 2006 the aircraft was leased to various Russian airlines - Red Wings Airlines
, Aviastar-TU, Interavia Airlines
and then Aviastar-TU again.
(23:34 on 21 March UTC
), the plane crash-landed about 1 kilometer short of a runway at Domodedovo airport while attempting to land at night in fog and poor visibility. The METAR
in force at the time was METAR UUDD 212330Z 16003MPS 0100 R14R/0450N R14L/0700U FG VV001 03/02Q1002 64290050 14290045 NOSIG=.
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. The accident resulted in the first hull loss of a Tupolev Tu-204 and the first hull loss for Aviastar-TU.
Rosaviatsia says the flight recorders have been recovered and sent to the Interstate Aviation Committee 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. 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. According to the chief of the Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko the "human factor" is the likely reason behind the crash.
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 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft). The crew then flew the aircraft manually, but did not communicate the failure of the autoflight system to Air Traffic Control.
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.
Tupolev Tu-204
The Tupolev Tu-204 is a twin-engined medium-range jet airliner capable of carrying 210 passengers, designed by Tupolev and produced by Aviastar SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association. First introduced in 1989, it is considered to be broadly equivalent to the Boeing 757 and has competitive...
, registration RA-64011, which crash-landed while attempting to land at Domodedovo airport, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, in conditions of fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
and poor visibility. The aircraft was on a flight from Hurghada International Airport
Hurghada International Airport
Hurghada International Airport is an international airport located in Hurghada, Egypt.The airport is located inland, southwest of El Dahar .In 2009 the airport handled 6,730,087 passengers .-Terminal:...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
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.
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was Tupolev Tu-204-100Tupolev Tu-204
The Tupolev Tu-204 is a twin-engined medium-range jet airliner capable of carrying 210 passengers, designed by Tupolev and produced by Aviastar SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association. First introduced in 1989, it is considered to be broadly equivalent to the Boeing 757 and has competitive...
, 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
Vnukovo Airlines
Vnukovo Airlines is a defunct Russian airline based at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. It was created as a spin-off from the Vnukovo Airport division of Aeroflot in March 1993 and operated until 2001, when it was bought by Siberian 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. From August 2006 the aircraft was leased to various Russian airlines - Red Wings Airlines
Red Wings Airlines
Red Wings is an airline based in Moscow, Russia. The airline provides both scheduled passenger and cargo charter services.- History :Red Wings was founded in 1999 under the name VARZ-400, after the Russian acronym of the Vnukovo Avia Repair Factory...
, Aviastar-TU, Interavia Airlines
Interavia Airlines
Interavia Airlines was an airline based in Moscow, Russia. It operated scheduled and charter passenger services. Its main base was Domodedovo International Airport, Moscow. The Russian aviation authority suspended their flights from 17 October 2008.-History:...
and then Aviastar-TU again.
Accident
Aviastar Flight 1906 was a ferry flight with only eight crew on board the aircraft. At 02:34 local timeUTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-East Africa Time:*Comoros*Djibouti*Eritrea*Ethiopia*Kenya*Madagascar...
(23:34 on 21 March UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
), the plane crash-landed about 1 kilometer short of a runway at Domodedovo airport while attempting to land at night in fog and poor visibility. The METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
in force at the time was METAR UUDD 212330Z 16003MPS 0100 R14R/0450N R14L/0700U FG VV001 03/02Q1002 64290050 14290045 NOSIG=.
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. The accident resulted in the first hull loss of a Tupolev Tu-204 and the first hull loss for Aviastar-TU.
Investigation
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." Russia's top investigator said on 22 March that the emergency landing may have been caused by an infringement of safety rules. The method the crew used to navigate the aircraft is a particular avenue of the investigation into the accident.Rosaviatsia says the flight recorders have been recovered and sent to the Interstate Aviation Committee 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. 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. According to the chief of the Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko the "human factor" is the likely reason behind the crash.
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 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft). The crew then flew the aircraft manually, but did not communicate the failure of the autoflight system to Air Traffic Control.
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.
