RIA Novosti, Russia
July 28, 2006
Armenia’s A-320 crash down to last-second crew panic – official
17:02 | 28/ 07/ 2006
YEREVAN, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia’s top civil aviation
official said Friday that the May crash of an Armenian Airbus into
the Black Sea had been largely because the crew panicked in the last
few seconds of the flight.
"The A-320’s flight modeling showed the flight was stable until 17
seconds before the crash," said Artem Movsisyan, head of the Civil
Aviation Agency.
The jetliner, operated by Armenian carrier Armavia, crashed in the
early hours of May 3 as it was preparing to land at the airport of
Adler, off Russia’s Black Sea coast. All 113 passengers and crew
died.
Movsisyan’s comments follow a report from the Interstate Aviation
Committee into the cause of the crash. The report said human error
was to blame for the accident.
Movsisyan did not reject this conclusion, but said stormy weather and
inadequate ground control had to be factored in as well. He said
flight recordings suggested that the air traffic controller’s
instructions had made the crew angry and nervous.
Along with Russian and Armenian aviation officials, the Interstate
Aviation Committee includes representatives of Toulouse-headquartered
Airbus, the manufacturer of the A-320.