EXPERIENCED CREW PILOTED CRASHED PLANE – AIR COMPANY OFFICIAL
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3 (Itar-Tass) – The passenger plane of the Armenian air
company Armavia that crashed into the Black Sea was in an excellent
technical condition, cleared for flights and piloted by an experienced
crew, the company’s deputy commercial director Andrei Agadzhanov said.
The plane had aboard 105 passengers and eight crew members as it was en
route from the Armenian capital Yerevan to Russia’s sea resort Sochi.
Agadzhanov told ITAR-TASS on Wednesday that the crew initially decided
to return to Yerevan because of bad weather conditions, but an air
traffic controller of the Sochi-Adler airport told it that the weather
improved over Adler.
It repeatedly deteriorated when the plane was close to the airport,
forcing the crew to fly the second circle, after which the plane
disappeared from radar screens.
A special flight will bring from Yerevan to Sochi relatives of
the crash victims, who include the former director-general of the
Armavia company, Vyacheslav Yaralov, who was flying to the funeral
of his mother-in-law.
The air accident has not affected the operation of the Armenia airport.
Armavia is continuing most of its flight services, the company’s
official told ITAR-TASS.
However, a flight to Amsterdam was cancelled.
The situation at the airport is calm.