RUSSIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER: WEATHER CAUSED A-320 CRASH

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 16:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The catastrophe of the Armenian airbus near Sochi
was a result of the pilots not taking into account hard weather
conditions, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Army General
Vladimir Mikhailov stated. “They did not take into account weather
conditions. The weather caused it. We will get the airborne recorders,
decode them and it will be confirmed,” Mikhailov said.

“Commander’s decision to return means it was necessary to
return. Decisions should never be changed. This results in serious
consequences,” the Commander-in-Chief said.

Mikhailov added that Russian military specialists, including those of
the 13th State Research Institute of the Russian Defense Ministry,
are ready to assist in decoding of the flight recorders, Russian
media report.

On the night of May 3 A-320 plane of Armavia Armenian air company,
flying from Yerevan to Sochi, crashed in the Black Sea 6 km away from
Adler airport. All 113 passengers, including 6 children and 8 members
of the crew, died as a result. Among them were 26 Russian citizens,
one Ukrainian and one Georgian citizen, while the rest were Armenian
citizens.