A preliminary analysis of information from flight recorders has shown that the engines of the Tu-134 passenger jet that crashed on Monday near the northern city of Petrozavodsk were operating normally, the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) said on Thursday.
"MAK continues to analyze audio and flight data registered by the [Tu-134] flight recorders. The audio information is seriously affected by noise and many sectors [on the tape] need to be restored. A preliminary analysis has shown that the aircraft's engines were functional before the ground impact and no failure of the aircraft's systems has been registered," MAK said on its webpage.
The RusAir flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk crashed shortly before midnight on Monday as it attempted to land at the city’s airport, which was shrouded in fog.
The Investigative Committee denied on Thursday media reports that alcohol had been discovered in the blood of one of the pilots.
“This information is not true. Expert examination into the plane crash is ongoing,” committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said.
President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the government to look into the possibility of early retirement of all Tu-134s. The aircraft entered service in the 1960s and the most recent was built in 1984.
“I have instructed the [Transportation] Ministry to ensure the early withdrawal of Tu-134s from service. It is high time to do that,” Medvedev said during a visit to the RIA Novosti newsroom on Thursday.
The air traffic controller who handled the fateful RusAir flight has been suspended, Russian air transport regulator Rosaviatsia said on Thursday.
A Rosaviatsia spokesman said the suspension was only temporary and did not mean that the controller was guilty of anything.
On Tuesday, Lifenews.ru quoted an air traffic controller at the Petrozavodsk airport as saying he advised the pilot try to make a second approach because of the poor visibility, but the pilot continued his initial attempt to land.
The aircraft hit a tree and power lines before crashing into a highway about a kilometer from the runway. It broke up and burst into flames on impact. Initially eight of the 52 people on board survived and were taken to local hospitals. On Wednesday a 10-year old boy, injured in the crash, died in a hospital, bringing the death toll to 45.
The day after the accident, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov suggested the air crash was caused by a combination of pilot error and bad weather.
The bodies of those killed in the accident who are not from near the crash site are to be flown to Moscow on Thursday evening. Forty three bodies have been identified, according to the Karelian regional health authority. Officials said identifying the remaining two victims would require DNA testing.
