Bodies of Moscow air crash victims identified

Moscow, Dec 30 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The bodies of all the victims in an air crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport have been identified, the Russian Investigative Committee said Sunday.

A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 medium-haul airliner Saturday overshot the runway while landing at Russia’s third busiest airport and caught fire, killing four.

A fifth person died in hospital Sunday. Three other people remain in grave conditions in hospital.

Russia has set up an inter-governmental commission comprising the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Federal Transport Oversight Service to investigate the causes of the air disaster. Pilot error is currently being viewed as the probable cause.

“The bodies of all the victims have now been identified. As soon as the state of the crewmembers injured in the air crash stabilizes, they will be questioned. An additional inspection of the crash site is being conducted,” the Investigative Committee said.

The crew commander, the second pilot, a flight engineer and two stewardesses were killed in the crash, according to the Red Wings airline that owned the plane.

“A video material made by an air crash eye-witness will be attached to the investigation materials,” the Investigative Committee said.

The flight recorders from the Tu-204 wreckage have been found and delivered to the Inter-State Aviation Committee for study.

There were eight people on board the plane, all of whom were crew members, flying from the Czech Republic.

Red Wings is a Moscow-based airline that operates 8-10 Tu-204 planes, each with capacity to carry up to 210 passengers.

The Moscow city transport prosecutor’s office has launched a criminal probe into the airline’s compliance with Russian aviation safety regulations.

—IANS/RIA Novosti

pm/vt

IANS 2012-12-30 21:34:04