RUSSIA/UKRAINE: Russian airliner crashes in Ukraine, no survivors

A Russian airliner carrying 170 holidaymakers home from a seaside resort crashed and burst into flames in a field in Ukraine on Tuesday (August 22) after it was struck by lightning, officials said. "According to initial information there was a lightning strike on the plane," a Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman said. The ministry said there were no survivors. Vasily Nalyotenko, deputy head of Pulkovo Airlines, which operated the Soviet-designed Tu-154, said the dead included 10 crew and 39 children. Dutch nationals were among the dead. "We are working with those who were due to meet passengers (from the crashed plane) here in St.Petersburg, we are working with relatives; and we will be making a list of relatives who wish to fly to Donetsk. As soon as we know the numbers, we will let you know the timing for any flights to Donetsk," said Nalyotenko at a news conference at St.Petersburg's Pulkovo airport. Rescue teams trained hoses on tiny pieces of smouldering wreckage strewn across a gully and woodland outside the eastern Ukrainian village of Sukha Balka. A burnt-out engine lay in a field and chunks of fuselage sporting Pulkovo's livery jutted out of a clearing. Airline officials said the crew had tried desperately to steer the plane to safety from a high altitude. Rescue teams were at the scene within 10 minutes of the impact. Helicopters whirred overhead despite stormy weather which abated as more crews arrived. Officials had earlier blamed the crash on severe turbulence. Flight 612 took off from the Black Sea resort of Anapa and was bound for its home base of St Petersburg. Its route went across Ukraine's eastern tip. In St Petersburg, officials brought in several dozen psychologists to help about 60 relatives who had come to the airport to await the aircraft's arrival. Pulkovo was due to fly relatives to the crash site on Wednesday. The Tu-154, dating from Soviet times, is the workhorse of most airlines in ex-Soviet states. Post-Soviet airlines had a patchy safety record in the aftermath of the collapse of communism, but it has improved in recent years. "The plane as I have already said is Tu-154m; it was entered into service (for us) in 1992, and from that time flew 24,215 hours; and after its last full check, the plane flew an additional 9,189 hours; and the average flying hours for such a plane is 30,000 hours. So, as you can see, the plane had a lot of working hours still left in it, and the plane is optimal working condition," added Nalyotenko. However, the crash was the second involving a regional Russian airline this year. Last month, an Airbus A-310 belonging to Sibir airlines crashed and burst into flames after veering off the runway on landing in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing 122 people. In May, 113 people died when an Airbus A-320 belonging to Armenian airline Armavia crashed on its way from Yerevan to the Russian resort of Sochi.

ITN Source | August 23, 2006

Tags:. .survivors. .route. .passengers. .collapse. .average