Tail Of Crashed A320 Plane Recovered, Undergoes Examination

TAIL OF CRASHED A320 PLANE RECOVERED, UNDERGOES EXAMINATION

ITAR-TASS, Russia
03.05.2006, 17.48

KRASNODAR, May 3 (Itar-Tass) — Rescue teams have recovered the tail of
the crashed A320 passenger liner of the Armenian air carrier Armavia,
which fell into the sea while approaching Adler airport in Russia’s
south in the small hours of Wednesday.

Krasnodar Territory Prosecutor Sergei Yeryomin has said the recovered
tail of the plane is being examined.

The investigators have also collected all audio recordings of the crew’
s exchanges with the air traffic controllers on the ground.

“Experts have begun studying them,” he said.

As follows from preliminary information available at this point,
the air traffic controller told the captain of the plane approaching
the airport the weather in the area of Sochi-Adler was very bad and
the pilot made a decision to return to Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

However, a short while later an air traffic controller at Adler
said the weather had improved and there was a chance to make a safe
landing after all. The plane changed course again and headed for its
final decision.

Yeryomin has said more fragments of victims’ bodies have been found
and brought ashore for forensic examination and identification.