AVIATION/ RUSAIR TUPOLEV TU134A CRASHES IN PETROZAVODSK

A RUSAIR Tupolev TU134A crashed on approach to Petrozavodsk, Russia, shortly before Midnight last night, killing 44 people and seriously injuring 8 others. RusAir Flight 243 was on Domestic Service on behalf of RUSLINE, from Moscow Domodedovo to Petrozavodsk, with 43 passengers and 9 crew members onboard. The Tuopolev took off from Moscow at 10:30pm local time, and was due to arrive in Petrozavodsk at 12:04am today. However ,shortly before Midnight, it crashed on a highway next to residential houses, about 0.6 miles away from Petrozavodsk Airport, which was shrouded in fog. The aircraft, registration RA-65691 and pictured top, broke up and burst into flames on impact. Officials said 36 passengers and 8 crew members were killed in the crash. There were 8 survivors, 7 passengers and 1 Flight Attendant. Of those injured, 5 passengers and the F/A have been medically evacuated to hospitals in Moscow, while the other 2 passengers were too critically injured to be transferred. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said that that among those killed in the crash were 4 foreigners and a family of 4 with dual Russian-US citizenship.

Russian investigators said both black boxes were recovered early this morning, shortly after the flames were extinguished. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) said the invesitgation had just begun and speculation in the press about the possible cause of the crash was premature. Investigators have found out that the Tupolev began to descend earlier than planned for unknown reasons and deviated from the runway track, possibly to attempt an forced landing on the highway. Media reports in Russia say thhat the aircraft hit a power line, causing a power cut that extinguished landing lights on the runway. Other Russian officials said the back-up systems were then switched on, but too late to stop the aircraft from crashing..