The A-310 airliner, operated by airline S7 (formerly Siberian Airlines), smashed into concrete garages and exploded after skidding off the runway upon landing at the Irkutsk airport, 2,600 miles east of Moscow. Of the 203 people on board, 124 were killed and 70 injured.
"On landing, the crew commander automatically moved the thrust lever of the left engine without noticing that its reverse thruster mode was deactivated," the Interstate Aviation Committee said.
The civil aviation committee of former Soviet republics said the crew failed to take the necessary measures to slow or shut down the left engine because the second pilot either was not aware or did not have control over the functioning of the engines.
However, an A-310 commander at a Russian airline who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the commander of the crashed plane could neither have failed to notice that the engine was in takeoff mode while they were breaking nor accidentally have elbowed the lever.
"Even if we imagine that it could happen like this, the commander could slow down the turbine," he added.
A source in Russia's Main Air Traffic Management Center said the situation that occurred during the landing of the A-310 is not considered as critical in aviation. "The aircraft could be leveled off on the runway after landing by switching the turbine to the breaking mode. Everything depends on a crew's experience," the source said.
He lamented the deteriorating skills of Russian pilots.
Experts earlier said an engine malfunction could have caused the turbine to switch into the takeoff mode.
