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Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash

Coordinates: 57°33′07″N 40°07′16″E / 57.5518528°N 40.121212°E / 57.5518528; 40.121212
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Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash
President Dimitry Medvedev lays flowers and kneels in front of the remains of the rear stabilizer of the Yak-42 that carried the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey squad.
Accident
Date7 September 2011 (2011-09-07)
SummaryUnder Investigation
SiteVolga River, near Yaroslavl, Russia
57°33′07″N 40°07′16″E / 57.5518528°N 40.121212°E / 57.5518528; 40.121212
Aircraft
Aircraft typeYakovlev Yak-42D
OperatorYak-Service
RegistrationRA-42434
Flight originTunoshna Airport, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia
DestinationMinsk-1 Airport, Minsk, Belarus
Passengers37[1]
Crew8[1]
Fatalities43[2]
Survivors2[1][2]

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash occurred at 16:05 Moscow Time on Wednesday, 7 September 2011, when a Yak-Service Yakovlev Yak-42, carrying the professional ice hockey team and coaching staff of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), crashed near the Russian town of Yaroslavl, which is located northeast of Moscow. The aircraft ran off the runway before lifting off, failed to gain height, struck a tower mast, caught fire and crashed 2 km (1.2 mi) from Tunoshna Airport. Of 45 onboard, all but two persons (one player and one crew member) died.[3][4]

The team was on its way to Minsk, Belarus, in order to start the 2011–12 season.[3] All players from the main roster plus four from the farm team were on board the aircraft. René Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, called the crash "the darkest day in the history of our sport."[5]

Aircraft

The aircraft, a Yakovlev Yak-42D, construction number 4520424305017, was first flown in 1993 and was delivered to Orel Air Enterprise. After operating with Bykovo Avia, it went on to operate in the Aero Rent fleet, and was later operated by Yak-Service, which was the operator of the plane when it crashed.[6] Oleg Panteleyev, head of analytics at AviaPort, notes that the Yak-42 was designed with a 36 year service life, and this airframe, based upon the number of hours flown, and the number of take-off and landings, still had 60% of its service life remaining. According to Panteleyev, in civil aviation, there is no such thing as an "old aircraft" and that instead it is airworthiness which determines whether the aircraft is suitable to operate.[7] According to Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov, one of the three engines on the plane had been replaced a month prior to the crash.[8] The aircraft was to be decommissioned in 2012.[8]

In 2009, Yak-Service was investigated by the European Commission, following airworthiness and air safety concerns. Russian authorities imposed restrictions on the carrier, and made Yak-Service subject to ramp inspections to international standards.[9] In 2010, Yak-Service had been banned from making flights into European airspace. The Russian transport ministry on 18 May prohibited Yak-Service from flying into Europe. On 11 August 2010, the operating restrictions were removed by Russia authorities. The European Commission, however, was not satisfied that mandatory equipment was present on all Yak-Service planes, and banned two Yakovlev Yak-40 regional jets (registrations RA-87648 and RA-88308) from operating in European airspace.[10]

Accident

RA-42434 in 2006 while in operation for Aero Rent.

The Yak-Service aircraft struck a beacon tower mast at the end of Runway 05 at Tunoshna Airport as it was taking off, with reports that the aircraft had used too much runway to take off and did not gain proper takeoff altitude.[11] The beacon tower is 91 metres (299 ft)-high and located 450 metres (1,480 ft) from the end of Runway 5.[12] After it struck the tower mast, the plane crashed on the riverbank of the Tunoshenka River, 200 metres (660 ft) from where it joins the Volga River, losing its tail assembly on impact while the forward part of the jet disintegrated.[11] At the impact site, the tail section remained in the water, while the pieces of the forward section were on dry land.[12] The location of the wreckage is approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the end of the runway.[13]

Witness reports described the plane as "bursting into flame" after hitting the mast.[14] The plane's direction changed after hitting the mast, described as turning to the right or to the left.[citation needed] Another witness report described that the plane's engines went silent moments before the crash.[15] Another report indicated that the plane hit some trees before it crashed.[16] Another report indicated that the plane broke into two before impacting.[12] A security surveillance camera mounted on the mast recorded the approach of the airplane at speed, running off the end of the runway, only metres above the ground, the nose pulling up moments before impacting the mast.[17]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had been on his way to Yaroslavl for the Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum, sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash,[18] and visited the crash site.[3] Upon hearing the news of the accident, KHL officials stopped and postponed the Salavat Yulaev Ufa–Atlant Moscow Oblast game already in progress.[19]

Investigation

The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), in accordance with Russian legislation, has opened an investigation into the circumstances and causes of the accident.[20] Russian aviation authorities suspended all flights with the aircraft type after the accident pending checks of other existing aircraft of the same type.[21]

The flight recorders were recovered on 8 September 2011, according to Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin, and sent to Moscow for examination.[22] The fuel supply used for the plane was seized, and samples taken for analysis to determine if substandard fuel was used.[23] The Investigative Committee commented that pilot error and mechanical malfunction were considered the two most likely causes for the crash.[23] One question to be investigated is why the pilots continued to attempt the take-off, rather than use emergency braking.[23] The pilots were experienced. Captain Andrei Solontsev had 6,900 hours of flight experience, 1,500 on Yak-42s, and first officer Sergei Zhuravlyov 15,000 hours, although only 420 on the Yak-42, according to Okulov.[23]

Conflicting opinions were given on the ability of the Yak-42 to take off with less than three engines operating. According to a report quoting the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane can land and fly on two engines, but cannot take-off if one engine shuts off.[24] According to Shavkat Umarov, head of the Tatar branch of Rosaviatsiya in Kazan, the Yak-42 can take-off using two engines.[25]

People on board

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish President Abdullah Gül laying flowers outside Arena-2000 in Yaroslavl on 8 September 2011.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the aircraft manifest listed 8 crew members and 37 passengers as being aboard the flight, including survivors Alexander Galimov and Alexander Sizov (bold text below).[26] According to eyewitnesses, both Galimov and Sizov were severely burned, but both were conscious when rescued at the scene. All 43 bodies were recovered from the scene.[23] Both Galimov and Sizov were transported to Moscow for treatment.[24]

Team players

Player Age Country Position
Vitali Anikienko † 24 Russia/Ukraine[27] D
Mikhail Balandin † 31 Russia D
Gennady Churilov † 24 Russia C
Pavol Demitra † 36 Slovakia C
Robert Dietrich † 25 Germany D
Alexander Galimov[28][29] 26 Russia LW
Marat Kalimulin † 23 Russia D
Alexander Kalyanin † 23 Russia RW
Andrei Kiryukhin † 24 Russia RW
Nikita Klyukin † 21 Russia C
Stefan Liv † 30 Sweden G
Jan Marek † 31 Czech Republic C
Sergei Ostapchuk † 21 Belarus LW
Karel Rachůnek † 32 Czech Republic D
Ruslan Salei †[30] 36 Belarus D
Maxim Shuvalov † 18 Russia D
Kārlis Skrastiņš †[31] 37 Latvia D
Pavel Snurnitsyn † 19 Russia F
Daniil Sobchenko † 20 Russia/Ukraine[27] C
Ivan Tkachenko † 31 Russia LW
Pavel Trakhanov † 33 Russia D
Yuri Urychev † 20 Russia D
Josef Vašíček † 30 Czech Republic C
Alexander Vasyunov †[32] 23 Russia LW
Alexander Vyukhin † 38 Russia/Ukraine[27] G
Artem Yarchuk † 21 Russia LW
Notes
  • Yuri Urychev was injured and suspended at the time and was not originally scheduled to fly to the game, but he volunteered to go to support the team even though he wouldn't be able to play. Forward Maksim Zyuzyakin, 20, was left behind in Yaroslavl.[33]

Team staff

Person Age Country Title
Brad McCrimmon † 52 Canada Head Coach
Alexander Karpovtsev † 41 Russia Assistant Coach
Igor Korolev † 41 Russia/Canada Assistant Coach
Yuri Bakhvalov † - - physician/massage therapist
Aleksandr Belyayev † - - Equipment manager/massage therapist
Nikolai Krivonosov † 31 Belarus Fitness coach
Yevgeni Kunnov † - - Massage therapist
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov † - - Massage therapist
Vladimir Piskunov † - - Administrator
Yevgeni Sidorov † - - Coach-analyst
Andrei Zimin † - - Team doctor
Notes

Goalkeeper coach Jorma Valtonen was not on the plane as he stayed behind to work with the junior team.[34][33]

Flight crew

Person Title
Andrei Solomentsev † Captain
Igor Zhivelov † First Officer
Nadezhda Maksumova † Flight attendant
Vladimir Matyushin † Flight engineer
Elena Sarmatova † Flight attendant
Elena Shavina † Flight attendant
Sergy Zhuravlev † Mechanic
Alexander Sizov[35] Flight engineer

Background

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is one of the top teams in the KHL, originally established in 1959. The team won the Russian Championship in 1997, 2002, and 2003, and were finalists in 2008 and 2009, making it to the third round of the playoffs in four straight seasons. Lokomotiv lost in the 2010 KHL Western Conference Finals 4–3 to HC MVD, and lost in the 2011 KHL Western Conference Finals 4–2 to Atlant. Following this latest playoff disappointment, eleven players (most notably former NHLers Daniel Tjärnqvist and Alexander Korolyuk) left the team, and nine players were added to the roster for the upcoming 2011–12 KHL season. The players set to make their debut with the team notably included former NHLers Ruslan Salei and Kārlis Skrastiņš. Also set to make their coaching debuts were former NHLers Igor Korolev and Brad McCrimmon. Prior to the crash, the team played nine pre-season games, finishing with a 7–2 record. On September 3rd, the players played their last game, at home against Torpedo, winning 5–2. Alexander Galimov, the only member of the team to survive the crash, scored the last goal of that game, sealing the win for Lokomotiv with an empty net goal.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Крушение самолета Як-42 в Ярославской области" (in Russian). Ministry of Emergency Situations. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b Full list of people on board of crashed Yak-42, Russia Today (7 September 2011)
  3. ^ a b c "Russian ice hockey team wiped out in plane crash". Yaroslavl: RIA Novosti. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Top KHL squad killed in passenger plane crash in Russia — RT". Rt.com. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Yaroslavl plane tragedy". Kontinental Hockey League. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Яковлев Як-42Д Бортовой №: RA-42434" (in Russian). russianplanes.net. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  7. ^ Template:Ru icon "Разбившийся Як-42 израсходовал 40% летного ресурса, сообщили эксперты" (in Russian). Moscow: RIA Novosti. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Russian investigators probe KHL jet crash". CBC News. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Commission Regulation (EC) No 1144/2009 of 26 November 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 474/2006 establishing the Community list of air carriers which are subject to an operating ban within the Community". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  10. ^ Kaminiski, David (9 September 2011). "Yak Service had come under EU safety scrutiny". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  11. ^ a b Kaminiski, David (8 September 2011). "Yak-42 failed to gain height and hit beacon: ministry". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  12. ^ a b c "Non-flying country". Rosbalt. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  14. ^ Maloveryan, Yuri (7 September 2011). "Russia's Lokomotiv ice hockey team in air disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  15. ^ "Poor-quality fuel emerges as possible cause in fatal Russian jet crash". The Globe and Mail. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  16. ^ "http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/238746/". NTV (in Russian). 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  17. ^ "Last second Yak-42 were recorded on video". NTV (in Russian). 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  18. ^ "Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team killed in a plane crash". Presidential Administration of Russia. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  19. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (1 September 2011). "Plane crash kills 'majority' of KHL team Lokomotiv - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  20. ^ "Як-42 RA-42433 07.09.2011". Interstate Aviation Committee. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Yak-42 flights suspended after fatal Yaroslavl crash. 07/09/11". Flight Global. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  22. ^ "The wreckage of Yak-42 pick up from the bottom of the Volga". Rosbalt (in Russian). 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Medvedev Orders Airline Overhaul After Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Tragedy". Moscow Times. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Yaroslavl crash survivors to be flown to Moscow". Voice of Russia. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  25. ^ ""Something unusual happened" when Yak-42 took off in Yaroslavl Oblast: expert". Focus Information Agency. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  26. ^ Template:Ru icon "СПИСОК экипажа и пассажиров, находившихся на борту воздушного судна Як-42" (Press release) (in Russian). Ministry of Emergency Situations. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  27. ^ a b c Template:Ru icon "Посольство Украины подтвердило гибель трех украинцев в крушении Як-42". Moscow: RIA Novosti. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  28. ^ "Названа причина крушения Як-42 в Ярославле" (in Russian). Rambler Media Group. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  29. ^ "Врачи опровергли сообщение о смерти хоккеиста Галимова". Gazeta.ru (in Russian). 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  30. ^ Dave Waddell (7 September 2011). "Former Red Wings McCrimmon and Salei killed in Russian plane crash". Windsor Star. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  31. ^ Lynn Berry (7 September 2011). "Russian jet crash kills 43, many top hockey stars". Forbes. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  32. ^ Gulitti, Tom (7 September 2011). "Devils' prospect among those killed in Russian hockey team plane crash". northjersey.com. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  33. ^ a b "Хоккеист Урычев не должен был лететь с "Локомотивом" в Минск" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 8 September 2011.
  34. ^ "Feschuk: Last-minute decision to stay spared coach's life". thestar.com. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  35. ^ "Первые фото с места крушения Як-42 под Ярославлем" (in Russian). LifeNews. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 Yaroslavl plane crash.

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