RusAir Flight 9605

RusAir

Industry	Aviation
Headquarters	Russia , Russia
Products	Air transport services

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence RusAir Flight 9605 (also operating as RusLine Flight 243) was a scheduled domestic passenger service that crashed near Petrozavodsk in Russia's Republic of Karelia on 20 June 2011 amid dense fog during its landing attempt. The aircraft, a Tupolev Tu-134, was conducting a flight for RusAir originating from Moscow. Out of the 52 individuals aboard, only five survived.

Accident

The Tupolev Tu-134 operated by RusAir was performing a route on behalf of RusLine from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport to Petrozavodsk Airport. During its final approach, the airplane impacted the A-133 federal highway roughly 1,200 m (3,900 ft) short of the runway. The crash occurred shortly after 23:40 local time (19:40 UTC), when communication with the aircraft ceased. At that moment, visibility was severely limited due to heavy fog. The federal air transport agency’s chief reported that the plane struck a pine tree approximately 15 metres (49 ft) high before crashing, noting there was no onboard fire or explosion prior to impact.Template:Fix/category

Officials at Petrozavodsk Airport indicated that the aircraft deviated from its intended path by about 200 metres (660 ft) and initiated its descent prematurely. Ground control advised the flight crew to execute a second approach because of poor weather and low visibility; however, the pilot responded that he would proceed with the initial landing attempt and expressed confidence in completing it successfully.Template:Fix/category

Aircraft

The airplane involved was a twin-engine Tupolev Tu-134A-3 bearing the registration RA-65691 and manufacturer's serial number (c/n) 63195. It was built and had its maiden flight in 1980.

Passengers and crew

Onboard were 43 passengers alongside nine crew members, totaling 52 individuals. Of these, 47 lost their lives while five sustained injuries. Among those who survived was a flight attendant; the other crew members perished in the accident. Three survivors who initially escaped the crash later succumbed to their injuries.

Casualty figures by nationality

Nationality	Fatalities	Survivors
Russia	38	5
Russia / United States (dual citizenship)	4	0
Ukraine	2	0
Belarus	1	0
Netherlands	1	0
Sweden	1	0
Total	47	5

Among those who died were notable figures such as FIFA football referee Vladimir Pettay, the CEO and chief designer of OKB Gidropress, Sergei Ryzhov, as well as Gennady Banyuk, deputy CEO and chief designer. Also lost was Nikolai Trunov, chief designer of the Russian VVER-1000 reactors used at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India and the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran.

Aftermath

The monument honoring the victims situated adjacent to the crash location

By approximately 01:00 on 21 June, firefighters had successfully extinguished the blaze at the accident scene. Initially, those injured were admitted to nearby medical facilities, with plans to subsequently transfer them to Moscow aboard an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft staffed with medical professionals and psychologists.

On 23 June, during a meeting of high-ranking Russian government officials, it was declared that following this tragic event, all Tu-134 aircraft would be withdrawn from commercial operations. Additionally, a prohibition was introduced against flying any airplane carrying more than nine passengers or weighing over 5,700 kilograms (12,600 lb) unless equipped with a ground proximity warning system.

Investigation

In September 2011, the Interstate Aviation Committee released its official investigation report concerning the crash. The investigation concluded that the primary cause was the crew’s choice to attempt landing under meteorological conditions that were below the minimum permissible limits for the airport, aircraft type, and pilot in command. Their failure to execute a go-around maneuver and descending below the minimum safe altitude without visual confirmation of either approach lighting or ground features led directly to the collision with trees and subsequent impact with terrain.

Additional factors influencing the accident included:

• Ineffective crew resource management during final approach, demonstrated by the captain’s deference to the navigator’s decisions, despite the latter’s increasing assertiveness influenced by mild alcohol intoxication, which effectively excluded the co-pilot from flight control during critical moments;
• The navigator operating under mild alcohol intoxication (0.08%);
• A significant mismatch between forecasted weather conditions—such as visibility, cloud ceiling, and fog—and the actual atmospheric state at Petrozavodsk at the time of the accident;
• Neglecting to utilize the automatic direction finder (ADF) and other onboard instruments for comprehensive aircraft monitoring during final approach while relying on the satellite navigation system KLN-90B, contravening the Airplane Flight Manual’s prohibition on GPS use during landing phases.

External links

• Template:Commonscat-inline
• Template:ASN accident
• Petrozavodsk plane crash (in Russian)
• Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations
  • "At 06:45 MSK on June 21, 2011, an EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft arrived at Petrozavodsk airport."
  • "Passenger and crew roster for the Tu-134 aircraft as of 08:00 MSK on June 21, 2011, which made a hard landing near Petrozavodsk."
  • "EMERCOM psychological support teams are providing assistance to families of victims and survivors, as well as eyewitnesses of the crash."
• "Minister Tatyana Golikova announces preparation for medical evacuation of six injured individuals from Petrozavodsk to Moscow." – Ministry of Health and Social Development (in Russian)
• "June 21 Tu-134 RA-65691 incident." Interstate Aviation Committee (in Russian) (Archive)
  • Official investigation report (in Russian) (Archive)