Human Error Reported Most Likely Reason for Irkutsk CrashHuman error is the most probable explanation for the Tuesday crash of a Russian Tu-154 plane near Siberian city of Irkutsk, which killed all 145 people on board, Interfax news agency reported Friday.The flight data recorders, called the "black boxes" suggest that all the engines and basic systems of the plane were operating properly until the crash, Interfax quoted a source close to the crash investigation commission as saying. Experts made a preliminary examination of the "black boxes" overnight and sent them to Moscow on Friday morning for a more thorough decoding. First Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who is heading the investigation, said Thursday the "black boxes" were sent to Moscow due to the facts that the recorders contain some extraneous noises and a quality analysis of the tapes can be done only by special equipment in Moscow. Noting any clues gleaned from the black boxes should be available Monday, Klebanov ruled out an explosion or any other " emergency situation on board," including engine failure, previously supposed as the most likely reason for the crash. "I can say now officially that all three engines were in normal working order-the flight recorders reflect that," said the minister in televised remarks. A 15-year-old Russian Tupolev-154 plane, belonging to the Vladivostokavia airline, plunged on Tuesday night onto the field while circling for a scheduled landing in Irkutsk, half way through a flight from the Ural city Yekaterinburg to Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast. All 145 people on board, including 12 Chinese citizens and six children, were killed in the worst civil air disaster for years in Russia. |
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