Russian specialists try to identify big object on A-320 crash site

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 6, 2006 Saturday

MOSCOW, May 6 — Russian specialists are in the process of identifying
a major object measuring tens of meters, spotted on the sea bed in
the area of the Armenian A-320 jet liner’s crash near the Russian
Black Sea resort of Sochi, sources in the TETIS PRO Ltd. company
said with reference to its executive director, Sergei Biryukov,
who is running the underwater search work on the site of the disaster.

Biryukov commands the search operation from a tugboat with the use
of the experimental search and examination complex Kalmar, equipped
with a multi-beam sonar.

The company said “since the spotted object may prove a piece of rock,
several dives and the use of a small-size TV camera may prove necessary
to understand what exactly has been found.”

A TETIS PRO Ltd. official said the search complex Kalmar had been
developed under a contract with the Russian Navy.

“At the moment of the A-320’s crash an experimental sample of the
Kalmar complex was in Novorossisk, where it was undergoing preparations
for state certification tests before entering service in the Russian
Navy,” the company’s official said. “By agreement with the naval
command specialists joined the search for the fuselage of the A-320
liner.”

The Kalmar complex was designed to search for and examine underwater
objects at depths up to 600 meters.

It consists of a multi-beam sonar capable of spotting objects on the
seabed and a small-size remote-controlled underwater apparatus for
the visual examination of found objects.

Another deep sea diving apparatus created by the same company, the
Tiger, proved very effective in the operation to rescue the AS-28
mini-submarine off the Kamchatka Peninsula in August 2005.

TETIS PRO Ltd. was founded in 1991. The company is focused on the
development, manufacture and supply of equipment for professional
diving companies and service companies, including breathing
apparatuses, underwater communication equipment, divers supply
equipment, tools for commercial diving and some others.

TETIS PRO Ltd. products are manufactured according to state
standards. The company has a certificate of the Russian Shipbuilding
Agency for development, manufacturing and repair of military equipment,
including equipment for underwater technical jobs.